
/''/ 




Copyright N°^ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Field ManagementN 

and 

Crop Rotation 



Planning and Organizing Farms; Crop Rotation Systems; 

Soil Amendment with Fertilizers; Relation of Animal 

Husbandry to Soil Productivity; and Other Important 

Features of Farm Management 



BY 



EDWARD C. PARKER 

Formerly Assistant Agriculturist, Minnesota Agricultural 
Experiment Station; Special Agent, Bureau of Statis- 
tics, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and 
Agricultural Expert with the Gov- 
ernment of Manchuria 




( O 



r^ 



COPYRIGHT 1915 

BY 

WEBB PUBLISHING CO. 

W-1 

All Rights Reserved 



APR 3 1915 

©CI..A398213 



PREFACE 

This book has been written with the hope that it will 
prove of wide usefulness as a textbook in agricultural schools 
and colleges; as a handy reference book for editors, publicists, 
and agricultural students; and as a popular treatise for 
farmers. It treats, in popular language, of the most im- 
portant problem of modern times — the maintenance of soil 
productivity and the profitable use of capital and labor in 
agriculture — a problem worthy of much consideration by 
the American people in these days of high costs, diminishing 
agricultural exports, and increasing population. 

Field management and crop rotation, as presented in 
this book, had their inception, so far as the author is con- 
cerned, in the class rooms of the Minnesota School of Agri- 
culture under the tutelage of Professors Willet M. Hays 
and Harry Snyder. In large measure the subject matter of 
this book traces back to the investigational work of these 
men as well as to their classification of knowledge about field 
management and crop rotation. Furthermore, this book 
is the outgrowth of the author's own experience in crop 
rotation investigational work at the Minnesota Agricultural 
Experiment Station, in teaching crop rotation and the plan- 
ning of farms to students in the Minnesota School and 
College of Agriculture, as well as in the surveying and 
platting of Minnesota farms in connection with the gather- 
ing of cost statistics and farm management data by the 
Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and the United 
States Department of Agriculture. Travel and observation 
of farming practice in many regions of the United States of 



6 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

America, as well as in Japan, Korea, North China and 
Manchuria, have also had an influence on the author's 
presentation of the subject. 

The author acknowledges that in this book there is a 
free use of many ideas and principles taken from Snyder's 
"Soils and Fertilizers" and "Chemistry of Plant and Animal 
Life," and also a free use of the ideas and principles relative 
to soil amendment with fertilizers as advocated by Dr. C. 
G. Hopkins in the bulletins of the Illinois Agricultural 
Experiment Station. The investigational work of these 
men is so important to a discussion of field management 
and crop rotation that no book on this subject would be 
complete without it. 

Acknowledgment is made to Andrew Boss, Chief of the 
Division of Agronomy and Farm Management, and to A. 
D. Wilson, Director of Agricultural Extension and Farmers' 
Institutes, of the Department of Agriculture, University 
of Minnesota, for important suggestions and for correcting 
copy, also to F. J. Alway, Chief of the Division of Soils 
of the Department of Agriculture, University of Minnesota, 
for valued suggestions. Many other agricultural writers-^ 
and Experiment Station workers have given valued assist- 
ance in securing local facts about crop rotation plans. 

The problems and practicums of this book have been 
prepared with the idea of calling attention to many of the 
important features of the text, and also to provide supple- 
mentary work relative to the subject matter. Where time 
permits, the problems demanding supplementary reading 
will be found of great value. The practicums, if carried 
out under local conditions, will add greatly to the students' 
interest in the subject. 

The responsibility for the arrangement and presentation 
of the subject matter, as well as for the interpretation of 



PREFACE 7 

much of the investigational data, is with the author. The 
greatest possible care has been used by the author, as well 
as the publishers, to avoid error and the omission of valuable 
facts, and yet it is possible that errors or important omis- 
sions exist in the text. The author requests that he be 
apprised of any that may come to the attention of readers. 

■ EDWARD C. PARKER. 

St. Paul, Minn., February 4, 1915. 



CONTENTS 



PART I— HISTORICAL REVIEW 

Page 

Early Experience of Mankind in Agriculture 15 

The Eariy Use of the Bare Fallow 18 

Legume Crops in Agricultural History 19 

The History of Soil Tillage Methods and Implements 24 

The History of Crop Rotation 29 

Crop Rotation, an Important Feature of Farm Management . . 33 
The Effect of Cheap and High Priced Land on Agricultiiral 

Methods 36 

PART II— ROTATIONS AND PLANS 

Chapter 

I Definition and Classification 39 

Grain Crops, Grass Crops, Cultivated Crops, Catch Crops, 
Green Manure Crops, Cover Crops 

II Effect of Cropping on Soil Properties 50 

Humus Producing Crops, Humus Destroying Crops, 
Nitrogen Gathering Crops, Gross Feeding Crops, DeUcate 
Feeding Crops, Shallow and Deep Rooted Crops 
ni Effect of Continuous Cropping on Productivity, Plant 

Diseases, Insects, and Weeds 64 

Continuous Grain Crops, Continuous Cultivated Crops, 
Continuous Grass Crops, Available Supply of Plant Food, 
Crop Residues, Plant Diseases and Insect Pests 

IV Advantages of Crop Rotation 71 

General Results; Control of Weeds, Crop Diseases and 
Insect Pests; Relation of Live Stock to Fertility; Main- 
tenance of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium; Farm 
Labor and Business Management; Value of Land, and 
Farm Profits 

V Field Management to Establish Crop Rotation 98 

Meaning of Systematic Crop Rotation, Drainage and 
Clearing, Division of Fields, Reorganization of Old Farms 



10 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Chapter Page 

VI Plans and Diagrams 124 

Short Cycle Rotations, Long Cycle Rotations, Rotations 
for Live Stock Farming, Use of Catch Crops, Use of Green 
Manure Crops, Use of Cover Crops, Use of Alfalfa, Per- 
manent Pastures, Plans without Pasture Lands for Inten- 
sive Systems of Live Stock Farming 

VII Rotations for North Central States 164 

General Statements, Small Grain Farming, Corn Farming, 
Potato or Sugar Beet Farming, Mixed Grain and Live 
Stock Farming, Tobacco Farming, Semi-arid Farming 

VIII Rotations for North Atlantic States 183 

General Statements, Dairy Farming, Potato Farming, 
Tobacco Farming, Mixed Grain and Live Stock Farming 

IX Rotations for South Atlantic States 191 

General Statements, Live Stock Farming, Mixed Grain 
and Live Stock Farming, Tobacco Farming, Cotton 
Farming, Miscellaneous Crop Farming, Rice Farming 

X Rotations for South Central States 203 

General Statements, Cotton Farming, Diversified Farm- 
ing, Sugar Cane Farming, Tobacco Farming, Rice Farm- 
ing, Grain Farming 

XI Rotations for Western States 223 

General Statements, Plans for Humid Regions, Plans for 
Non-irrigated and Semi-arid Regions, Plans for Arid and 
Semi-arid Irrigated Lands . 

XII Practicability of Rotations and Field Plans 261 

Chief Criticisms, Value of Field Plans and Maps in Farm 
Management 

PART III— ROTATION AND COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 

I Relation of Fertilizers to Permanent Agriculture 267 

Comparative Permanency of Agriculture, Subtraction of 
Plant Food, Unavoidable Losses of Plant Food, Fertility 
not Inexhaustible, Ultimate Permanency of Agriculture 

II Limitations of Crop Rotation in the Maintenance of Pro- 
ductivity 264 

Insufficiency of Crop Rotation, Sufficiency of Crop 
Rotation 



CONTENTS 11 

Chapter Page 

III Need for Commercial Fertilizers 269 

General Conditions, How to Determine Need, Profit- 
ableness 

rV Phosphorus, the Key to Permanent Productivity 277 

Dearth of Phosphorus, Geographical Variations, Im- 
portance 

V Source and Value of Commercial Fertilizers 280 

Acid Phosphate, Ground Bone Steamed, Sulphate of Pot- 
ash, Muriate of Potash, Kainit, Wood Ashes, Dried 
Blood, Tankage, Sulphate of Ammonia, Nitrate of Soda, 
Complete Fertilizer 

VI Economical Use of Commercial Fertilizers 294 

Draft of Crops on Plant Food, Indiscriminate Use of 
Commercial Fertilizers, Conditions Warranting Use of 
Complete Fertilizers, Fertilizer Efficiency Dependent on 
Good Farming 

VII Use and Application of Commercial Fertilizers 306 

Lime Fertilizers, Phosphate Fertilizers, Potash Fertil- 
izers, Nitrogen Fertihzers, Fertihzer Machinery 

VIII Experiment Station Reports 321 

Fertilizers for the Cut-over Lands of South Mississippi, 
Wheat Growing in Kentucky, Soil Fertihty Problems in 
Kentucky, Natural Rock Phosphate and Manufactured 
Acid Phosphate in Illinois, Complete Fertilizers in the 
Corn Belt (Illinois), Fertility in Illinois Soils, Fertihzer 
Experiments with Sugar Beets (Colorado), Summary 



PART IV— EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE 

I Rotation and Farm Management Experiments — Minnesota.. 341 

II Cropping Systems for Wheat — North Dakota 353 

III Co-operative Rotation and Fertilizer Tests — Nebraska 363 

IV Continuous and Rotation Cropping with and without Manure 

or Commercial Fertilizers — Ohio 364 

V Thu-ty Years of Crop Rotation — Illinois 375 

VI Results of Scientific Soil Treatment— Illinois 381 



12 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



PART V— REVIEW OF SOIL PRODUCTIVITY 

Chapter Page 

I Lessons from Other Nations 386 

II Depletion and Maintenance of American Soils 392 



PART VI— ADDITIONAL FEATURES 

I Plowing Practice 405 

All Soils Cannot Be Plowed Alike, SubsoiUng or Deep 
Tillage, Fall and Spring Plowing 

II Soil Inoculation for Legume Crops 416 

Bacteria Essential to Legume Growth, Frequent Lack of 
Bacteria, Species of Bacteria, Natural Means of Dis- 
tribution, Artificial Methods of Inoculation, Other 
Conditions Necessary to Legume Growth 

III Seed Selection 420 

Heavy Seed is Good Seed, How to Select Good Seed, 
Special Care Necessary for Seed Corn 

IV Improved Crop Varieties 424 

Pure Seed Desirable, Value of Improved Varieties, 
Maintenance of Variety Productivity 

V Fungus Diseases 428 

Flax Wilt; Stinking or Covered Smuts of Wheat Barley, 
Oats, and Rye; Loose Smut of Oats, Wheat, and Bailey; 
Corn Smut; Kafir Corn Smut; Potato Scab; Potato 
BUght; Sweet Potato Black Rot and Stem Rot; Tobacco 
Root Rot and Bed Rot 

VI Weed Eradication 436 

Wild Mustard, Wild Oats, Kinghead or Giant Ragweed, 
Corn Cockle, Bull Thistle, Burdock, Canada Thistle, 
Quack Grass 



CONTENTS 13 

APPENDIX 

Compendium of Facts and Statistics 

Page 
Rules for Measuring Hay in Mows and Stacks, Grain and 

Roots in Bins, Corn in the Crib, Grain and Ear Corn 

in Wagon Boxes, and the Acreage of Fields 449 

Legal Weights of Agricultural Products 452 

Amounts of Seed per Acre. Depth to Plant. Methods 

of Planting. Crops : Annual, Biennial or Perennial 454 

Standard Grass Mixtures 458 

Composition and Amounts of Manure Produced by Different 

Kinds of Farm Animals 459 

Amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium in Animal 

Products 459 

Annual Maintenance Costs for Dairy Cattle 460 

Quantity of Milk Required to Cover Costs of Maintenance 

of Cows of Different Values 462 

Haecker's Feeding Standards 463 

Wolff's Feeding Standards 477 

Cost of Farm Horse Power 478 

Fencing Costs 479 

Work Capacity of Farm Machines 482 

Depreciation in Value of Farm Machinery 484 

Cost of Producing Corn, Wheat, Oats, Barley, and Potatoes 

in the Various Geographic Divisions of the United States 486 
Summary of the Cost of Producing Field Crops in Minnesota 490 
Itemized Accounts of the Costs of Producing Corn, Hay, 

Wheat and Potatoes in Minnesota 491 



iiWii 



FIELD MANAGEMENT 

AND 

CROP ROTATION 



PART I 
HISTORICAL REVIEW 

Early Experience of Mankind in Agriculture. The 
evolution of agriculture among the various nations of the 
earth has proceeded along very similar lines since the dawn 
of history and, doubtless, for many centuries of the pre- 
historic age. Indeed such pioneer agriculture as exists in 
the twentieth century A. D. in portions of North America, 
South America, and Africa, closely resembles, in many 
particulars, the agricultural experiences of mankind in the 
earliest periods of history. The growing of food crops on 
cultivated land has never been the first plan of a tribe or 
pioneer community of men to satisfy their food requirements. 
Man's first recourse to obtain food has ever been the wild 
animals of the forest or plain, the fish of the lake or stream, 
supplemented by the roots, grains and fruits that nature 
yielded unaided. Sometimes the wild meat and fruits would 

Note: Acknowledgment is here made to three treatises on the historical 
features of agriculture from which the author has freely dra^wn for the material of this 
part: Roman Farm Management, or treatises of Cato and Varro, translated by 
Fairfax Harrison, a Virginia Farmer; English Agricultural Writers from Sir Walter 
of Henley to Arthur Young, 1200-1800 A. D., by Donald McDonald; Historical 
Sketch of American Agriculture by T. N. Carver, Vol. IV Bailey's Cyclopedia of 
American Agriculture. 



16 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

be supplemented with a cultivated cereal grown on small 
patches of virgin soil, but, even then, the main food reliance 
was the wild animal life of the country. The families and 
tribes were more or less migratory. Nature fed them and 
they wandered from one hunting or fishing ground to an- 
other. 

As population increased, nature's supply of easily ob- 
tained food decreased. Then we find man taming and 
domesticating animals and guarding their young from the 
attacks of wild beasts that he might control his meat supply 
and increase it according to his needs. With his flocks and 
his herds he now sought the richest grazing lands for his 
habitation. Life was still migratory to a large extent, but 
not so much so as when entire dependence was placed on 
the natural supplies of food. Man had then become skilled 
as a shepherd or drover. He still hunted and fished, but 
the hunter had mainly given way to the flock-master and 
the cattle-drover. 

In the early history of mankind, as well as in the agri- 
cultural history of many modern communities, the pastoral 
or grazing stage of animal husbandry was slowly merged 
with agriculture. Agriculture— the growing of food crops 
on cultivated land — originated from several causes, chief 
of which was the desire for a varied diet, the need of winter 
forage for live stock, and the ever increasing population 
that demanded more food supplies from the known regions 
of the Eartli than could be supplied from hunting, fishing, 
and grazing live stock. And so man chose from the wild 
plant life surrounding him the cereals and vegetables that 
best suited his taste, and the grasses and forage plants 
that produced most abundantly, and began to grow these 
crops on cultivated land where he could nurse and protect 
them as he had once learned to tame and protect the wild 



HISTORICAL REVIEW 



17 



animals of his environment. Early agriculture did not 
displace the grazing of live stock, but merged with it. An- 
imal husbandry came to rely more and more on the prod- 
ucts of the cultivated fields to winter and fatten the animals. 
As long as two thousand years ago the farm breeding and 
feeding of live stock, as distinct from pastoral animal hus- 
bandry, was well developed among the Romans, and this 
same evolutionary process has taken place in the develop- 
ment of nearly all the agricultural regions of the Earth. 

It was early learned that cultivated lands under crop grad- 
ually lost their producing power. When cultivated land lost 




From Painting by Rosa Bonheur. 
Plowing with oxen in Europe. 



some of its producing power, it was abandoned to nature, and 
new land of virgin fertility was reclaimed from the forest or 
prairie. This was the natural and simple procedure under 
the circumstances. Rich, productive, virgin land was abun- 
dant and cheap. Labor was relatively scarce. There was 
little knowledge of the causes for the decrease of soil pro- 
ductivity or the methods for renovating worn out land, and so 
the farmer followed the lines of least resistance and aban- 



18 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

doned the old land for new. This custom of abandoning 
partly worn land has been almost universal in the history of 
all nations and their agriculture. The English farmers of the 
eleventh to the fifteenth centuries grew considerable grain, 
and the preparation of virgin land every year was a regular 
part of the farmer's work, some of the old land being allowed 
to go back to grass or weeds every year. Early agriculture 
in the American colonies followed the same practice. The 
tobacco growers of old Virginia would clear virgin land, plant 
tobacco for three to eight years on it, and th^n abandon the 
land to nature. Agricultural communities in South America, 
Central America, and even North America may still be found 
where this practice is followed. 

The Early Use of the Bare Fallow. Along with such 
agricultural experience as taught man that cultivated lands 
under crop soon lost their producing power came the knowl- 
edge that idle lands tend to recuperate their power to produce 
good crops. The experience of the farmers of many nations 
in many chmates- showed that idle, abandoned land would 
come back in its productivity. In man's early discovery of 
this principle we find the origin of the practice of "bare fallow- 
ing." As land became scarcer and as agriculture increased in 
importance the bare fallow became a systematic feature of 
agriculture, j Instead of working land to a condition of un- 
productivity and then abandoning it to nature, the farmer 
cropped the land continuously with regular fallow periods 
every second or third year. 

The bare fallow was the basis of Roman agriculture for a 
long period, being systematically alternated with the field 
crops every second or third year. The English farmer of the 
thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries also placed a great deal 
of dependence on the bare fallow in his scheme of cropping. 
Writing in the early part of the seventeenth century and just 



HISTORICAL REVIEW 19 

prior to the spread of knowledge about clover in England, the 
Rev. John Laurence says : "Fallowing kills weeds by turning 
their roots to the air. It lays the land in ridges thereby bet- 
ter exposing it to receive the nitrous influence of frost, wind, 
sun and dew. These influences all tend to sweeten and mel- 
low the land." Many agricultural regions of the United 
States of North America have made extensive use of the bare 
fallow in their methods of agriculture — in fact the bare fallow, 
as a method for increasing the productivity of land, may still 
be found in numerous agricultural regions of North America. 

Modern agricultural science reveals the fact that, while 
the bare fallow acts as a temporary stimulus to soil productiv- 
ity, it is a. practice that serves to hasten the ultimate unpro- 
ductivity of a soil area. The green manure fallow, the annual 
pasture, and the legume meadow are the modern methods for 
"resting land," and the old bare fallow is disappearing except 
as a means for destroying noxious weeds and, in some regions, 
for conserving soil moisture. 

Legume Crops in Agricultural History. While modern 
science has answered all the whys and wherefores about the 
bare fallow, the green manure legume crop, and the legume 
meadow crop, in their relation to soil productivity, the prac- 
tices of green manure fallowing and seeding down land with 
legume crops did not originate in modern times. The value 
of the legume crop as a soil renovator was known many 
centuries before science discovered all the reasons why 
legume crops rest the land more than a bare fallow. In fact, 
the green manure fallow and the legume crop meadow came 
to supersede the bare fallow in Roman and English agricul- 
ture long before the scientific facts were known about legume 
crops and the nitrogen gathering bacteria or the function of 
humus in the soil. Early experience with legume crops, there- 
fore, developed the art of rotating them with other field crops. 



20 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Two thousand years ago the Romans well knew that the 
seeding of lupines, beans and vetches on their cultivated 
lands greatly increased the yields of succeeding grain crops. 
Discussing the best plants for the Roman farmer to cultivate, 
Varro wrote, fifty years before Christ: "Field beans should 
be sown as much as possible in your corn land." Varro also 
wrote about green manure crops in a manner that needs no 
revision to-day. He says: "Certain plants are cultivated 
not so much for their immediate yield as with forethought for 
the coming year, because, cut and left lying, they improve the 
land. So, if land is too thin, it is the practice to plow in for 
manure lupines not yet podded, and likewise the field bean, 
if it has not yet ripened so that it is fitting to harvest the 
beans." 

Alfalfa was one of the standbys of ancient agriculture. 
It was brought into Europe from Asia long before Christ and 
gradually spread all over Europe. It had become a standard 
farm crop in Roman agriculture about the time of Christ. 
Columella, a Roman author, writing about alfalfa in the early 
Christian era, says: "But of all the legumes, alfalfa is the 
best, because, when once it is sown, it lasts ten years; because 
it can be mowed four times and even six times in a year; be- 
cause it improves the soil ; because all lean cattle grow fat by 
feeding upon it; because it is a remedy for sick beasts; and 
because two thirds of an acre of it will feed three horses 
plentifully for a year." Columella gives instructions about 
seed bed preparation, seeding, care of the new seeding, and 
methods for feeding, that can hardly be improved to-day. 

Clovers, trefoil, and alfalfa were introduced into England 
from Spain, France and Flanders in the first part of the seven- 
teenth century. About the middle of this century many 
observing writers began to discuss the public loss that arose 
from constant pasturing on one portion of the land and con- 



HISTORICAL REVIEW 



21 



stant plowing and fallowing on another portion of the land. 
After the introduction of legume crops into England the bene- 
fits to succeeding grain crops from the use of legumes became 
quite well known. The practice of seeding legume crops with 
a nurse crop of grain developed during this period, and the 
rearing of cattle on arable land received a great impetus. 
Animal husbandry and grain growing were merged in England 
during this period largely because farmers discovered that 




Plowing in North China with a steel pointed wooden plow, 
not inverted but merely cultivated into ridges. 



The topsoil is 



legume crops yielded much more hay and pasture than their 
native grasses, as well as that they improved the productivity 
of arable land better than the bare fallow. 

The prevalent ideas about legume crops in the middle of 
the seventeenth century in England are well illustrated by the 
writings of Andrew Yarranton, who, in 1663, wrote a book 
encouraging the growing of clover, entitled, "Great Improve- 
ment of Lands by Clover." He says in this book: "Six 
acres of clover are as good as thirty acres of natural grass for 
fattening cattle." "Clover doth so frame the land that. 



22 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

being plowed, it will yield three or four years together a crop 
of wheat, and after that, a crop of oats," "Clover improves 
land by the roots' cleaning the soil, and by the shade of the 
leaves, beneath which an incipient decomposition is en- 
couraged which mellows the surface of the ground and pro- 
vides food for future crops." "Lime should be used to 
encourage the growth of clover." 

Clover was the first important legume crop to be intro- 
duced into the United States of North America. It was 
introduced from England into the New England colonies in 
1763. In the period 1790 to 1810 clover first began to have 
some importance in American agriculture, and was frequently 
used in rotation with grain in Pennsylvania and New York as 
a substitute for bare fallow. The use of legumes in Ameri- 
can agriculture has not yet become widespread. The 
development of the great cotton growing industry in the 
Southern states in the years 1830 to 1860, the rapid extension 
of cattle and sheep grazing in the Western states in the years 
1865 to 1885, and the rapid development of specialized wheat 
and corn culture on the extraordinarily fertile prairies of the 
Middle Western states in the years 1870 to 1890, built up 
three great special industries that have not yet given way 
entirely to the mixed type of farming with the use of legume 
crops and the rearing of live stock in connection with the 
special enterprise. The use of legume crops in American 
agriculture is on the increase, however. Progressive grain, 
corn, and cotton growers are fast learning that clover, alfalfa, 
cowpeas, soybeans, or some other legume is a necessity in any 
rational scheme of cropping that will maintain soil produc- 
tivity. The American live stock feeder is also fast placing his 
chief dependence on the legume crops for fodder crops on 
account of their productivity and high nutritive value. The 
United States Department of Agriculture has literally 



HISTORICAL REVIEW. 23 

combed the Earth to find legumes adapted to every soil and 
climate of the United States and to every need of farm man- 
agement. As a result, the most profitable and productive 
legume crops of all nations and all climates have been brought 
to the United States, and the future will undoubtedly see a 
great increase in the use of legume crops in American agri- 
culture. 

It was not until 1888 that scientific investigators dis- 
covered the relationship that exists between legume crops and 
the nitrogen gathering bacteria (See page 57). This discov- 
ery cleared up the mystery of why legume crops had such 
unusual power as soil renovators, especially when used for 
green manure fallows. It settled for all time the hitherto 
vexed problem of nitrogen plant food in agricultural soils, for 
it showed that the legume crop, and the nitrogen gathering 
bacteria associated with it, were the farmer's key to an 
absolutely inexhaustible supply of nitrogen in the atmos- 
phere. It also proved that the legume crop meadow or 
green manure was eminently superior to the bare fallow as 
a means for maintaining the productivity of the soil (See 
page 350). Scientific investigation since 1888 has added 
much to our knowledge of the soil bacteria associated with 
legume crops and of the methods that can be employed to 
inoculate soil with these bacteria so as to stimulate legume 
growth. (See page 415). 

There is much that we may still learn about legume crops 
and their place in a permanent scheme of agriculture, but we 
know enough now to realize the unrivaled value of these crops 
as soil renovators. The Romans realized the value of these 
crops in relation to soil fertility two thousand years ago, and 
when one sees the thousands of acres of cotton, corn, and 
wheat in the United States still grown in a ruinous system of 
continuous cropping, one wonders if the Romans were not 



24 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



wiser farmers two thousand years ago than we are to-day in 
the twentieth century after Christ. 

The History of Soil Tillage Methods and Implements. 
The tillage methods employed in the agriculture of ancient 
and medieval times were crude in comparison with the 
best tillage methods of modern times. The farmer of early 
times did not have at his command the steel moldboard 
plow, the disk harrow, the sub-surface packer, and the deep 
tillage plow, with which to invert and pulverize his soil 
easily and thoroughly. The plows employed in agriculture, 
prior to the middle of the nineteenth century, were crude 
and inefficient. As compared with the thorough pulverizing 




Photo by courtesy "The Farmer." 

In the disk harrow the modern farmer has an implement for smoothing and 

fining the seed bed, closing air spaces in freshly plowed land, and killing noxious 

weeds, that is far more efficient than any implement available to the farmer of 

ancient and medieval times. 



HT8T0RTCAL REVIEW 25 

work of the modern plow they merely stirred the surface 
soil. Many of the earliest plow types were merely sharp- 
ened, hardened sticks of wood. Later, an iron point was 
attached. The ancient and medieval farmer usually ridged 
his land in order to form a seed bed of loose soil. Often the 
tillage was accomplished as much with the mattock and 
spade as with the oxen or horse drawn plow. Hand tillage 
was common in Roman and English agriculture, and was 
largely employed in the early days of colonial agriculture 
in North America. In the Virginia colony, which was mainly 
agricultural, there were but one hundred and fifty plows of 
any kind in use in 1649, the majority of the fields being hand 
tilled. 

In spite of the tillage implement handicaps under which 
early agriculture was pursued the Romans learned from 
long experience the value of deep and thorough tillage. 
The Roman farmers worked their land deeply, thoroughly, 
and often. They learned the value of deep tillage in con- 
serving soil moisture and practiced "dry farming" in Meso- 
potamia for generations. 

The value of thorough soil tillage as a factor in crop pro- 
duction was not emphasized and brought completely to 
the light until the middle of the eighteenth century. The 
Romans undoubtedly understood the value of thorough soil 
tillage and practiced it themselves, but with the decay of 
Rome and of Roman civilization their knowledge of the art 
of agriculture passed temporarily into oblivion. Many 
centuries intervened before the European barbarian tribes 
developed the art of agriculture to a point approximately 
comparable to that of the Romans in the height of their 
civilization. English agriculture, for example, underwent 
all the elementary stages of agricultural evolution from the 
eighth to the eighteenth centuries, and not until the middle of 



26 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

the eighteenth century, or even the first part of the nine- 
teenth century, had Enghsh agriculture sufficiently advanced 
to be in any way comparable to the agriculture of the Romans. 

In the middle of the eighteenth century an Englishman 
named Jethro Tull made some discoveries about soil tillage 
that made his name famous, and that gave a great impetus 
to the study and practice of thorough soil tillage as one of the 
most important of all factors in crop production. Before 
TuU's time English lands were scantily tilled and the seed 
was thickly sown broadcast. Legume crops had come into 
quite common use as well as the rearing of live stock on 
arable land, but the tillage methods were poor and ineffi- 
cient. During Tull's travels in France he noticed that 
the vineyards were not manured, but were very thoroughly 
tilled. This gave him the idea that field crops could be 
similarly grown without manure, if the soil were thoroughly 
pulverized. He invented a crude machine for sowing grain 
in drills that would permit inter-tillage, and he also improved 
the plows and tillage implements of his time. His experi- 
ments and observations showed that drill sowing required 
less seed than broadcast sowing, and that with inter-tillage 
the fold of crop from seed was greater than his neighbors 
were getting by the common methods of sowing and tillage. 

Tull's experience led him to develop a theory of crop 
production which stated that "tillage is manure," and that 
"hoeing and pulverizing the soil might supersede the use 
of manure." In the later years of his life he came to realize 
that his tillage methods were but one important factor of 
crop production and not inclusive of all the essential factors. 
For many years, however, he advocated thorough soil tillage 
as the cure-all for lands of low productivity. Agriculture 
owes much to Jethro Tull. In his experiments and writing 
he gave us the first great and comprehensive lesson about 



HISTORICAL REVIEW 



27 



the value of the inter-tilled crop and thorough soil pulver- 
izing in the art of successful agriculture. Other men may 
have known of the value of these practices in the centuries 
before his time, but, if so, they failed to stamp their ideas 
permanently on the art of agriculture. Jethro Tull's ideas 
soon became incorporated in English agriculture, and, 
subsequently, in the modern agriculture of many nations. 
From Jethro TuU we have learned that thorough soil tillage 
is essential to maximum crop production and that the 
inter-tilled crop prepares the land for a succeeding crop as 
well as a bare fallow. 

The invention of modern tillage implements is mainly a 
rnatter of American history. In 1814 Jethro Wood, of 
New York, took out the first patent for a cast-iron plow, but 
it was not very successful. By 1825 the cast-iron plow had 
received enough improvement so that a number was put. 















mi 


Hi 


- ■ • ■pMf 


l^^r^^ 


W^i^^^ 



Surface tillage between crop rows leaves the &uil in a-^ K'jnd t inchuiin tor the 
succeeding "grain crop" as the bare fallow, and there is no loss of revenue tor one 
year from the land. 



28 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



to use in the New England States. John Deere made the 
first steel plow from an old saw blade in 1837. From that 
date one improvement after another has followed on the 
steel plow, until to-day the farmer has a plow that runs 
easily, cuts evenly and deeply, and that lifts and pulverizes 
the soil in a manner more thorough than can be attained 
with hand tillage. The modern plow with its long base, 
hard but malleable shear, curved moldboard in types adapted 
to many soils and conditions of plowing, clevis attachments, 
and rolling coulter, is an implement of modern times only. 
The plow as we know it to-day is less than fifty years old. 
The last quarter of the nineteenth century saw many 
valuable inventions in tillage implements, such as the disk 




Photo by courtesy Emerson Brantingham Company. 
Breaking sod with gas engine power. A distinctive feature of twentieth century 
agriculture is the application of engine power to farming operations. 



HISTORICAL REVIEW 29 

harrow, sub-surface packer, riding cultivator for inter-tilled 
crops, and various types of smoothing harrows, all of in- 
estimable value in the fining and pulverizing of soil. The 
early part of the twentieth century has seen two notable 
inventions pertaining to the work of soil tillage, namely, the 
gas tractor with its engine gang plow, and the disk deep 
tillage machine. Gas tractor plowing, though now practical, 
is still in its infancy. The future will undoubtedly show an 
evolution in the application of power to soil tillage that will 
give the farmer a new and marvelous control over the tillage 
of soil. The disk, deep tillage plow of the twentieth century 
will plow and pulverize types of soil that were difficult to 
handle properly with the common plow, and where deep 
tillage is desirable this machine will cut and pulverize the 
soil to a depth of twelve to eighteen inches, mixing the top- 
soil with new subsoil or mixing the organic matter of a 
green manure crop with the soil to a depth of twelve to 
sixteen inches, and thus, in certain types of soil, greatly 
enlarging the area in which crop roots can penetrate and 
absorb plant food. 

Not only have modern inventions in tillage implements 
eliminated all back breaking labor from the work of soil 
tillage, but also applied all the modern scientific principles 
relative to soil tillage in their mechanism and operation. 
Other civilizations learned from experience many of the 
principles of efficient soil tillage, but none had such power 
and mechanical facilities to apply these principles as we 
have who live in the twentieth century. 

The History of Crop Rotation. Crop rotation is by no 
means a distinctive feature of modern agriculture. Many of 
the principles of rotation cropping were known to the primi- 
tive nations. The value of alternating legume crops and 
fallow years (forerunner of the modern cultivated crop) with 



30 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

grain crops was known to the Romans one hundred years 
before Christ. The Romans also understood the value of 
farm manures as a cheek to the loss of plant food from the 
soil, and that the rearing and feeding of live stock on arable 
land in connection with the growing of food crops gave great- 
er permanency to agriculture than a system *of agriculture 
that did not include live stock. Concerning the relation of 
animal husbandry and forage crops to agriculture, Varro, the 
Roman author, writing fifty years before Christ, says : "The 
practice and the art of the farmer are one thing, I say; that of 
the shepherd, another; the farmer's object being that what- 
ever may be produced by cultivating the land should yield a 
profit; that of the shepherd, to make his profit from the in- 
crease of his flock; and yet the relation between them is 
intimate, because it is much more desirable for a farmer to 
feed his forage on the land than to sell it, and a herd of cattle 
is the best source of supply of that which is the most available 
food of growing plants, namely, manure; so it follows that 
whoever has a farm ought to practice both arts, that of agri- 
culture and that of grazing cattle." 

Systematic crop rotation, however, as we now define it, 
meaning the alternation of the grain, grass and cultivated 
crops on a certain area of land, was not formulated into a 
definite practice, commonly employed in agriculture, until 
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. During this age 
legumes had been introduced into England, turnip culture 
for sheep feed had become quite common, and the tillage prac- 
tices of Jethro Tull had been accepted. In the eighteenth 
century in England, sheep raising and dairying were practiced 
by many farmers on arable land. Clover and turnips had 
been largely substituted for the bare fallow, and the forage 
crops were fed on the farm. The frequent use of the bare 
fallow, so long a feature of English agriculture, began to be 



HISTORICAL REVIEW 31 

strongly disapproved by the leaders in agricultural thought 
who advocated, instead, the continuous cultivation of the 
land with successions of different crops including clover a,nd 
turnips. 

Systematic rotations were developed during this period, 
such as (1) turnips, (2) barley, (3) clover, or, (1) wheat, (2) 
beans, (3) oats. The leases on English lands began to con- 
tain rigid cultivation clauses which required tenants to 
manure land; allowed only two crops to be grown in succes- 
sion and removed from the land; and stipulated that land 
sown to clover, if fed off, or with turnips, fed on some part of 
the farm, were not to count as crops. Leases of this kind 
show the well defined cropping systems that had grown up in 
England at this time, which combined legume crops, grain 
crops, cultivated crops, and annual pastures in a systematic 
rotation, and which prove that the merging of animal hus- 
bandry with agriculture had become an accomplished fact. 

Arthur Young, the most prolific of all the early English 
agricultural writers, whose writing was done in the latter part 
of the eighteenth century and the first part of the nineteenth, 
was the first great apostle of mixed farming. He taught the 
value of legume crops, the use of crop rotation, and the feeding 
of live stock on the farm with the return of the manure to the 
land. He insisted that grass land and grazing were of pri- 
mary importance to English agriculture, and the manage- 
ment of arable land of only secondary importance. Of his 
writings it has been said: "They produced more private losses 
and more public gain than those of any other author." In 
many ways he was a theorist. His own agricultural enter- 
prises often failed and he doubtlessly caused others to fail in 
the attempted practice of his theories. He, nevertheless, 
stimulated his people into an awakened agriculture out of 
which there came definite policies of crop rotation, soil man- 



32 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

agement, and the relation of animal husbandry to agriculture, 
that have come down as a valuable heritage to the agriculture 
of the twentieth century. 

By 1840 the practice of crop rotation was almost universal 
in England, and also the use of artificial manures to supple- 
ment animal manures. English vessels were bringing large 
quantities of guano, rich in phosphorus and nitrogen, to the 
soils of England. The use of bone phosphate in English 
agriculture also commenced in the years 1840 to 1860. 

Early agriculture in the United States of North America 
was based mainly on English customs, due to the fact that the 
early settlers were chiefly English and Scotch. English 
rotation plans appeared early in the history of American 
agriculture in the oldest communities where agriculture had 
advanced beyond the pioneer stage. The old English plans 
were modified somewhat to suit the new conditions, especially 
to include Indian maize. One of the earliest used rotation 
plans in the American colonies was: (1) fallow, (2) wheat, 
(3) peas or beans, (4) barley. In his letters and papers 
George Washington describes a good crop rotation plan that 
he found in use on Long Island in 1790, as follows: (1) 
corn (manured), (2) oats or flax, (3) wheat (with four to six 
pounds of clover and one quart of timothy), (4) meadow, (5) 
pasture. In the years 1800 to 1810 this same Long Island 
rotation plan, with some slight modifications, came into 
quite general use in Pennsylvania. In Virginia, prior to 
18C0, many farmers followed a rotation plan of (1) corn, (2) 
wheat or oats, and (3) land allowed to grow weeds and grass 
and pastured. After 1800 in Virginia a rotation plan often 
used was: (1) corn, (2) wheat (with clover), (3) clover 
meadow with second crop plowed under, (4) wheat. 

The most important principles of rotation cropping are 
shown in these rotation plans used in England and the Amer- 



HISTORICAL REVIEW 33 

ican colonies in the first part of the nineteenth century. 
We have improved but Httle on these plans in the twentieth- 
century. We have learned more about the use of annual 
pastures, cover crops, and green manures, as well as the meth- 
ods for combining these crops with the staple field crops in a 
rotation plan. We have improved somewhat the English 
rotation plans of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but 
the principles of rotation cropping are not new in the history 
of agriculture. The scientific investigations of the nine- 
teenth and twentieth centuries have explained many of the 
facts about crop rotation that were known only by experience 
to previous generations. Modern exploration work also is 
continuously adding valuable legume and forage crops to fit 
into cropping schemes for many different climates and 
systems of farming. Furthermore, modern science has shown 
us the limits of the potency of crop rotation to secure high 
crop yields. We now know that the chief value of crop 
rotation is to keep the reserve plant food of the soil available 
to crops, and that no amount of crop rotation can add any 
plant food to the soil except nitrogen. Knowledge of these 
facts enables the modern student of agriculture to place a 
correct value on soil tillage, crop rotation, and commercial 
fertilizers, as factors of crop production. 

Crop Rotation an Important Feature of Farm Manage- 
ment. The practice of crop rotation developed chiefly from 
the experiences of mankind relative to soil productivity. The 
early history of agriculture and of crop rotation shows that 
man's chief concern in planning systems of cropping was to 
maintain soil productivity and avoid the low yields that ex- 
perience had shown him resulted from continuous cropping. 
Labor was cheap in the early years of agriculture and but 
little attention was paid to the economical management of 
man labor, horse power, and machinery. 



34 



FIELD 3IANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



The twentieth century has brought labor conditions in 
agriculture that make the correct management of farm labor, 
horse power, and machinery, as important a factor in profit- 
able farm management as the maintenance of soil productiv- 
ity. Farm labor becomes more costly with every passing 
year, and farm wages are tending to rise to the city wage 
level for skilled mechanics. At the same time the twentieth 
century farmer demands more skill of his laborers than the 
nineteenth century farmer demanded. The modern exten- 
sive use of large capacity machinery in agriculture demands 
skilled laborers, large capital investment, and a relatively large 




Photo by courtesy Deere and Company, 

The modern American type of steel plow inverts and pulverizes the soil more 

thoroughly than any tillage implement possessed by the farmer of previous eras, 

and the gang plow has greatly increased the amount of horse power which one 

man can control. 



HISTORICAL REVIEW 35 

amount of efficient horse power on the farm. Under these 
conditions small leaks in the management of farm labor, 
horse power, and machinery, may become an important 
feature in the profit and loss account of a farm. Maximum 
efficiency of man labor and horse labor is essential to the 
maximum net profit on the twentieth century farm. 

Systematic crop rotation has a very important relation to 
the efficiency of labor and machinery on farms. The orderly 
arrangement of fields, and seasonal distribution of farm labor, 
provided by a well planned crop rotation system, are basic 
features of good farm management, and essential to the max- 
imum efficiency of farm labor and machinery. Other things 
being equal, the farm that has its fields laid out in an orderly 
and systematic scheme of cropping will effect economies in 
the management of labor and machinery that are not possi- 
ble in a haphazard scheme of field management or in 
systems of continuous cropping. 

By far the greater part of the scientific evidence relative 
to the value of crop rotation in farm practice relates to the 
problem of soil productivity. There are but few scientific 
data to illustrate and prove the value of crop rotation in the 
efficient management of farm labor and machinery, but the 
experience and observations of the best farm managers sup- 
port the theory of the value of crop rotation in this respect. 
The new farm management of the twentieth century must 
recognize the basic importance of a systematic scheme of 
crop rotation in the successful management of the vast major- 
ity of American farms. As the reader of th is book peruses the 
text and the diagrams of Part II the great importance of 
systematic crop rotation in the general management of a 
farm will become apparent. 

The Effect of Cheap and High Priced Land on Agricul- 
tural Methods. The history of all nations shows that cheap, 



36 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

fertile land has always been accompanied by wasteful, exten- 
sive methods of agriculture. Under such conditions it has 
ever been useless to preach against slothful farming and to 
advocate crop rotation and all the good farming practices 
associated with it. So long as land is cheap and virgin fer- 
tility abundant it is easier and usually more profitable for the 
pioneer farmer to increase his profits by increasing his acreage 
of land than to practice intensive systems of farming. The 
lure of increasing land values is also a factor in causing men 
to own and farm large areas of land in a slothful and wasteful 
manner. 

But history also shows that, whenever land begins to lose 
its virgin fertility and yet become high in price, more inten- 
sive systems of farming eventually arise from the force of 
necessity. Systems and methods of farming, such as contin- 
uous wheat growing or cattle grazing, that were profitable on 
land worth $10.00 per acre, are not profitable on land worth 
$100.00 or more per acre. High land values are usually 
accompanied by high market prices for farm products and by 
a lowered marketing cost; but, on the other hand, the carry- 
ing charges on the land and the costs of production rise to a 
point that more than offsets the price gain and the marketing 
economies. Profitable farming on high priced land must 
consider the problem of soil productivity, efficient manage- 
ment of labor and capital, and the choice of crops and sys- 
tems of farming that will yield large returns per acre under 
intensive management. 

It often occurs, however, that lands, once cheap and very 
fertile, pass through a generation or two of advancing land 
values maintaining the same simple, wasteful systems of 
farming that were in vogue in the days of cheap land. Much 
of the choice, high priced, prairie land of the Middle West in 
the United States is farmed to-day by methods that are but 



HISTORICAL REVIEW 37 

little different from the methods employed when lands were 
cheap and virgin fertile. Many of these choice old farms 
would not carry operating expense, taxes, and current interest 
on a modern valuation, because the system of farming is ill- 
suited to the present day conditions of soil fertility and mar- 
ket value of the land. The owners of such farms remain 
solvent only because the present day value of their land is not 
a real factor in their expense accounts. Many such farms 
would be in bankruptcy, if interest charges had to be met, 
as well as taxes and the expenses of crop production. 

Successful farming on high priced land from which much 
of the original store of available plant food has been taken is a 
problem necessitating serious attention by the man who 
purchases high priced land and to whom the price of land is a 
real factor in business. Under these conditions the necessity 
for crop rotation, thorough tillage, and even soil amendment 
with fertilizers, is apparent and real, in order to raise and 
maintain a condition of high productivity in the land. Also 
the necessity arises for a system of farming that will give the 
greatest possible efficiency to the farm labor and to the money 
invested in machinery and equipment, and that will yield 
crop values commensurate with a high land price. 

Crop rotation in itself is not the cure-all for unproductive 
land or the absolute key to profits from high priced agricul- 
tural land. But crop rotation is the chief factor in a com- 
bination of good farming practices that will maintain the 
productivity of the soil, and around which intensive systems 
of farming may be developed that will yield the maximum 
crop value per acre at the minimum of expense. Crop rota- 
tion is to general field agriculture what the foundation is to 
the house, the solid base on which we may successfully rear 
a permanent superstructure designed in a hunderd different 
ways according to our individual requirements and desires. 



PART II 
ROTATIONS AND PLANS 



CHAPTER I 
DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION 

The term "crop rotation" is used to define a system of 
growing grain, grass and cultivated crops on a given area of 
land in such order and succession as to keep the soil produc- 
tive, in good tilth, free from weeds, in such mechanical con- 
dition that moisture for the crops is easily controlled, and so 
as to insure the productive employment of the farm proprie- 
tor's capital and labor. The term "continuous cropping" 
is commonly used to mean the exact opposite of crop rota- 
tion: namely, the growing of any one class of crops, such as 
the grain, grass or cultivated crops, for many years in suc- 
cession on the same area of land. 

Classification of Field Crops for the Purpose of Studying 
Crop Rotation. The staple field crops may be divided into 
six general groups for the purpose of studying and planning 
systems of crop rotation: namely, grain, grass, cultivated, 
catch, green manure, and cover crops. This classification is 
not based on any botanical relationships whatsoever, nor on 
any similarity of appearance, but on the methods employed 
in seeding and harvesting the crop, the methods of soil prep- 
aration and cultivation, and the purposes for which the crop 
is grown. 

Grain Crops. This group includes such crops as wheat, 
barley, rye, oats, flax and millet, grown for the value of their 
seeds. Field peas, wrinkled peas, and soy beans, when sown 
with a grain drill, and grown for seed production, may also 



40 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



be included in this group, although they differ materially in 
their effect on the land as compared with other grain crops. 
Wheat and rye have varieties that are spring sown and 
varieties that are autumn sown. These crops are grown 
in largest quantities in the Northern part of the Temperate 
Zone, and the usual method of soil preparation is autumn 
or early spring plowing with thorough harrowing. The 
modern, almost universal, method of seeding the grain 
crops is to sow in drills six or seven inches apart with a 
machine kno^vn as a grain drill that mechanically opens the 
soil and puts the seed in the ground at a uniform depth. 




Photo by courtesy "The Farmer." 

Seeding the "grain crop" with the grain drill. Drilling the seed ia superior 
to broadcasting, because less seed is necessary, the seed goes in at a uniform 
depth, and the seed is covered better. "Grass crops" are often seeded with the 
grain as a nurse crop, either by mixing the seed with the grain in the hopper, or 
by means of a special grass seeding device on the drill. 



DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION 41 

Wheat and oats are sometimes sown on land that has not 
been plowed but merely pulverized to a depth of three or 
four inches with a disk harrow. In many of the corn growing 
sections of the United States, land which has grown corn is 
quite commonly prepared in this manner for the seeding of 
wheat or oats. When crops are sown very thickly on the 
land, as grain crops usually are, no cultivation of the soil is 
possible from seedtime till harvest. 

Grass Crops. In this group are included those crops that 
are most commonly used for pasture and hay to be fed to 
farm animals, such as timothy, brome grass, redtop, blue 
grass, red clover, alsike clover, crimson clover, white clover, 
and alfalfa. The characteristic feature of this class of crops 
is that they require little or no cultivation, and that during 
the time they occupy the land a turf or mulch of roots and 
stems is developed that fills the surface soil with vegetable 
matter. When the soil occupied by these crops is broken, 
this turf of roots and stems is mixed with the mineral 
matter of the soil and gives it a loamy, friable texture 
that cannot be secured following the growth of either the 
grain or cultivated crops, unless heavy applications of barn- 
yard manure have been made. 

The grass crops are usually sown by either of two meth- 
ods: (1) the seed is so^vn with a special grass seeding machine 
or a grain drill on a thoroughly pulverized seed bed at a time 
when no other crop occupies the land, and in a season of 
abundant rainfall or when the subsoil is well supplied with 
moisture, or (2) the seed is sown with a nurse crop of wheat 
or barley in the spring season, or sown in the spring on land 
occupied by a crop of autumn sown wheat or rye. If sown 
with spring wheat or barley, the grass seed is mixed with the 
grain seed in a grain drill and drilled into the soil along with 
the grain seed, or, if seeded with autumn sown wheat or rye, 



42 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 




DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION 43 

it is scattered on top of the soil with a special grass seeding 
machine where the grain crop was sown and then harrowed in. 

Seeding grass crops with a nurse crop of grain is a more 
practical method, wherever it is possible, than seeding the 
grass crop alone in the spring season, for, when the nurse crop 
is sown, the land produces a crop of grain while the grass crop 
is getting started; whereas, if the grass crop is sown in the 
spring season without a nurse crop, the land is unproductive 
and idle for one growing season. 

If the climatic conditions of any region are such as to 
provide favorable conditions for grass seeding in midsummer, 
grass seeds can be sown alone after a winter rye or winter 
wheat crop. By this method the land produces a crop in the 
season of seeding down to grass, and it is possible, if desired, 
to sow the grass seeds alone instead of with a nurse crop. 
In many parts of the North Temperate Zone alfalfa is sown 
in midsummer without a nurse crop in order to have an 
opportunity to destroy all weeds before the seeding is done 
and thus provide favorable conditions for the young stand of 
alfalfa. 

In some parts of the United States, soy beans, co\vpeas, 
Canadian field peas, and vetches are sown thickly on the 
land and harvested for hay or for ensilage, or perhaps pas- 
tured to live stock. When grown in this manner, they may 
be classed as grass crops in the planning of crop rotations, 
particularly so, if pastured; for, in that event, there remains a 
considerable portion of organic matter and manure to plow 
into the soil that is comparable to the turf of grass crops. 

Cultivated Crops. Any crop which is so planted as to 
permit of inter-tillage during the crop growing season may be 
classed" as a cultivated crop. Indian corn, sorghum, Kafir 
corn, potatoes, cotton, tobacco, and sugar beets are typical 
examples of this class of crops. Crops which permit of 



44 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



inter-tillage are sometimes called "cleaning crops," because 
weeds may be cultivated out or cleaned from the land during 
the time that these crops occupy the soil. Weed seeds often 
become buried below the surface of the soil and fail to germi- 
nate until the plow again brings them to the surface. Then, 
if a cultivated crop is on the land, the weeds may be quite 
thoroughly cleaned out by the cultivator. Very weedy land 
is sometimes cleaned by growing cultivated crops two or 
three years in succession and plowing the land each year so 
that the cultivation will clean weeds from both sides of the 
furrow-slice. 

When crops are so planted as to permit of inter-tillage, 
the continuous cultivation throughout the summer months 




Photo by courtesy "Farmer and Breeder." 
Cultivating corn 'with the two-row cultivator — a machine that effects eco- 
nomies in man labor. Cultivated crops clean the land of weeds, promote the 
disintegration of soil and organic matter, and prepare tiie land well for delicate 
feeding crops such as wheat. 



DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION 45 

is not only beneficial in destroying weeds, but also in pulver- 
izing and aerating the soil, and thus aiding the processes of 
soil decay whereby the plant food of the soil is rendered 
available to the roots of plants. 

It is a noticeable fact about plant growth that when 
the grain crops, such as wheat, barley or oats, are sown 
on land that was previously occupied by a cultivated crop, 
the yield is much greater than when grain crops are grown 
successively with no alternation with cultivated crops. The 
explanation is, that the work of inter-tillage has hastened 
those processes that change the raw fertility of the soil to 
a condition where the elements of plant food may be easily 
taken up by the plant. The effect of a cultivated crop on 
the soil is much the same as that of a bare fallow — a prac- 
tice of leaving the soil bare or fallow occasionally and thor- 
oughly tilling it during the summer months. 

Catch Crops. The term "catch crops" is used to desig- 
nate those crops that may be sown in the Temperate Zone 
to take the place of regular, staple crops that in a rotation 
have failed on account of unfavorable climatic conditions, 
or crops that may be so^vn with regular crops, or between 
the seasons for regular crops, as supplementary pasture 
for live stock or to produce a second marketable crop in 
one growing season. 

The crops most widely used for this purpose are winter 
rye, rape, crimson clover, buckwheat, turnips, Canadian 
field peas, soy beans, cowpeas, and fodder corn. Examples 
of the use of these catch crops are as follows: Rape, soy 
beans, cowpeas, Canadian field peas or fodder corn may 
be used in a rotation to take the place of grass crops, that 
may have been killed by drought or a severe winter. Pasture or 
fodder may thus be provided instead of the regular grass 
meadow or pasture. Buckwheat or turnips can be sown 



46 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



after the barley harvest and a crop matured before winter. 
Rape can be sown with grain in the spring and be used for 
pasture after the grain harvest. Winter rye can be sown in 
the autumn following the ordinary grain harvest and be 
used in the autumn and the succeeding spring as sheep or 
swine pasture, and then be plowed up in the late spring in 
preparing a seed bed for corn or some other late sown crop. 




Photo by courtesy "Farmer and Breeder." 
A "catch crop" of cowpeas sown with corn in central Iowa for annual pasture 
or green manure. A consistent policy of growing this crop in rotations with 
corn will materially increase the yields of corn. 

Green Manure Crops. Green manure crops are those 
that are grown for the particular purpose of producing 
organic matter that can be plowed under and incorporated 
with the mineral matter of the soil. This is a practice 
that is commonly employed to restore worn out soils to a 
state of productiveness, or to improve the physical texture 
and fertility of sandy soils. The decaying organic matter 
assists in releasing and making available to plants the 
plant food of the soil, and also assists in maintaining a 



DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION 



47 



1. 

■ i ^ 


:0W 





P/!o/o 6y courtesy C. V. Piper, U. S. Dept. of 
Agriculture. 
Rye and vetch for green manure or forage. 
The rye supports the vetch plants. This is an 
excellent soil renovating crop for sandy soils in 
the North Central States, as well as other agri- 
cultural regions. 



desirable percent of 
moisture in the soil. 
The most commonly 
used green manure 
crops are buckwheat, 
mammoth clover, red 
clover, crimson clov- 
er, Canadian field 
peas, soy beans, cow- 
peas, sweet clover and 
vetches. They grow 
quickly and produce 
large amounts of or- 
ganic matter. The 
legume crops — crim- 
son clover, mammoth 
clover, red clover, 
Canadian field peas, 
soy beans, cowpeas, 
sweet clover or vetches 
— are the best crops 
for green manuring, 
because they contain 
a higher percentage of 
crops as buckwheat, 
is used to desig- 



nitrogenous compounds than such 

Cover Crops. The term "cover crop' 
nate certain crops that are sown for the particular purpose 
of covering the land at those seasons of the year when soil 
is likely to be eroded and soluble plant food lost by leach- 
ing. Cover crops may also be used to prevent wind drifting 
of soils in the early spring, and in fruit orchards to act as 
a mulch that will assist somewhat in the prevention of 



48 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

root killing by frost and to retard growth in the spring in 
order to avoid danger to fruit buds from late frosts. 

Cover crops are not grown to produce marketable prod- 
ucts but as a special means of soil protection. The crops 
most commonly used for this purpose are crimson clover, 
rape, buckwheat, winter rye, soy beans, cowpeas and the 
vetches. The manner in which these crops cover and 
protect the soil may be illustrated as follows: Crimson 
clover, a quick growing annual crop, is sown on a hillside 
field subject to erosion and to loss of soluble plant food 
by leaching and running water. The crop of crimson 
clover is sown in the autumn following a regular crop and 
soon the roots penetrate the surface soil and the growing 
plant absorbs the soluble plant food. Thus, when the 
succeeding winter and spring come on with their storms 
of wind and rain, the soil is somewhat withheld from erosion 
by the roots of the cover crop, and much of the soluble 
plant food of the soil is stored in the roots, stems and leaves 
of the cover crop in such a way that loss is minimized. As 
spring comes on and the crimson clover starts into life 
again, the crop with its stored supplies of plant food is 
plowed under in preparing the land for the succeeding 
marketable crop. In regions too cold for crimson clover 
to survive the winter, such crops as winter rye are used for 
the same purpose. Rape, buckwheat, soy beans and cow- 
peas may be used with good results, even though winter 
kills down the plants. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) What two botanical families comprise the majority of the Tem- 

perate Zone crops cultivated by man? 

(2) What are the advantages to be gained by seeding cereal and 

grass crops with the grain drill instead of the broadcast seeder? 
Are there any disadvantages? 



DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION 49 

(3) What grain crop is the best "nurse crop" to use in your lo- 

cality when seeding land to grasses, clovers or alfalfa? Com- 
pare wheat, rye, oats, barley and flax. Can grass crops be 
sown satisfactorily in a corn crop in your locality? If so, 
outline methods. 

(4) Compare the advantages and disadvantages of seeding alfalfa 

in your locality with a nurse crop. What advantages are to 
be gained by sowing alfalfa without a nurse crop in mid- 
summer? 

(5) Why does the bare fallowing of land usually increase the yield 

of the crop following? See page 350. 

(6) Why is it inadvisable to bare fallow land except to destroy 

noxious weeds? See pages 297 and 360. 

(7) Why is it better policy to alternate grain and grass crops with 

a cultivated crop rather than with the bare fallow? See 
pages 297 and 360. 

(8) How many days does it take in your locality to mature a crop 

of wheat, oats or barley? How many days does land com- 
monly lie idle in your locahty between small grain harvest 
and the close of the pasture season? Estimate the value 
per acre of this period of time if the land were occupied by an 
annual catch crop pasture completely utilized by live stock. 
(Get data on this question from local farmers. Make an 
estimate for dairy cows, fat cattle, young cattle, or sheep.) 

(9) What is the best green manure crop for your locality? Why? 

(10) What are the soil and climatic conditions that make it advisable 

to use cover crops? In what part of the United States are 
these conditions commonly found? 

(11) Study the modern types of machinery used in planting the 

grain, grass and cultivated crops. Ascertain the conditions 
which best fit the use of the various t5rpes of grass seeding 
machines. 

(12) How much seed should be sown per acre for the various crops 

noted in this chapter? See page 454. 

(13) Why is it customary to sow less seed in a semi-arid climate than 

in a humid cUmate? 



CHAPTER II 
EFFECT OF CROPPING ON SOIL PROPERTIES 

Great differences exist in the effects which the various 
field crops have on the physical and chemical properties of 
the soil, and the student of field and crop management 
must understand these facts before it is possible for him to 
realize the advantages in rotating the grain, grass and cul- 
tivated crops. In considering the field crops from this 
point of view, namely, the effect which their growth has 
on the physical texture of soils and the supply of available 
plant food in the soil, they may be roughly divided into 
seven groups as follows: 1. Humus producing crops. 
2. Humus destroying crops. 3. Crops which gather 
atmospheric nitrogen. 4. Gross feeding crops. 5. Deli- 
cate feeding crops. 6. Deep rooted crops. 7. Shallow 
rooted crops. 

Humus Producing Crops. The structure of all plants is 
chiefly composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, elements 
that the plant obtains from the carbon dioxide of the atmos- 
phere and the water in the soil. These compounds, carbon 
dioxide and water, are abundant in nature and usually acces- 
sible to cultivated plant life. The chief portion of organic 
matter, therefore, is easily produced and easily accessible as 
a constituent of the soil. 

Organic matter during its process of decay in the soil is 
called humus. Humus is very valuable in soils, because its 
presence determines, to a large extent, the moisture supply 
and the ease with which the soil may be tilled. Soils 
lacking in humus are hard and gritty, difficult to till, and 
incapable of allowing the passage of air and water in such 



EFFECT OF CROPPING ON SOIL PROPERTIES 51 

amounts as to favor crop growth. Humus acts as a sponge 
within the soil. In sandy soils it absorbs and holds moisture, 
and in clay soils it makes the soil loamier and easier to till, 
more porous and accessible to air, and prevents baking, 
cracking, and the consequent rapid evaporation of moisture. 

Humus, also, during its process of decay in the soil, 
produces certain acid solvents that assist in putting the 
plant food compounds of the soil into solution, so that plant 
roots may absorb and make use of them. It may thus be 
seen that humus is a very important soil constituent, and 
that the productivity of the soil depends to a large extent 
upon the humus supply. 

All crops are humus producing in their natural and wild 
existence; for the plant structure, when its life is completed, 
decays into humus and is incorporated in due time with the 
mineral matter of soils. Virgin soils are always rich in humus 
and when the breaking plow inverts the wild sod the accumu- 
lated humus supply of centuries may be seen. In the forest, 
likewise, the dead leaves, the twigs, and the old bark, all 
decay and become mixed with the mineral matter of the soil, 
holding moisture for the tree roots, and in their decay releas- 
ing the elements of plant food from their fixed condition in 
chemical compounds. 

When man uses the soil to produce vast acreages of wheat, 
com or cotton, he usually checks the natural production of 
humus and fails to supply the soil with organic matter to 
offset the decay and consumption of the original supply. In 
many of the great grain fields of North America many tons 
of straw are burned every year, thus wasting in smoke and 
gases the supplies of humus that should be returned to the 
soil to keep it mellow and productive. In the sorghum, 
soy bean and millet fields of Manchuria in North China, 
humus is destroyed and wasted in a still more reckless 



52 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

manner; for not only are the stalks of the crops taken from 
the land and used for fuel, but even the roots of the crops are 
dug up and burned. 

Such practices may continue on the most fertile soils for 
several generations, but eventually the day of reckoning 
arrives. The soil becomes hard, gritty, underlaid with a 
plow hardpan, and unproductive. Then the land is either 
abandoned to nature to have its humus supply again built 
up, or it is reclaimed and cropped scientifically by men who 
understand the production and control of humus, and who 
can soon restore a supply of humus to the barren soil. 

A humus equilibrium can undoubtedly be maintained in 
the soils from which men produce their staple crops, providing 
the straw and roots of grain crops are either returned directly 
to the soil and plowed under or used as feed and bedding for 
live stock and returned to the soil as manure, this supply of 
humus being augmented occasionally by growing grass crops 
that produce a turf of roots and stems that increase the humus 
supply of the soil when plowed under. In some of the wheat 
growing districts on the Pacific Coast, where the grain is cut 
with a header and the straw plowed under, the soil is still 
mellow and productive after many years of continuous grain 
growing. 

Those crops that are commonly called "humus producing 
crops" are the meadow and pasture crops, such as timothy, 
red top, blue grass, brome grass, clovers and alfalfa. The 
clovers and alfalfa are particularly valuable in this respect; 
for they produce large taproots underground and also branch 
profusely, so that, even though the plant above ground is cut 
off for hay or pasture, a large amount of organic matter 
remains to be plowed under and mixed with the mineral 
matter of the soil. 



EFFECT OF CR0PPI1\^G ON SOIL PROPERTIES 



53 







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54 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

It may thus be seen that the term "humus producing 
crops" is apphed to those crops that will produce supplies of 
humus for use in the upkeep of the soil, and will also, during 
the time they occupy the soil, produce marketable crops of 
hay and pasture. All crops produce humus, but, in case of the 
grain and cultivated crops, the greater portion of the plant 
is usually removed from the soil and its organic matter con- 
sumed, except where corn or grain is fed off in the field or the 
straw of headed grain is plowed under or where such crop 
products are fed to live stock and the manure returned to the 
land. The grasses and clovers, however, will produce humus 
that can be plowed into the soil, and also permit the market- 
ing of a portion of the plant structure. Hence the term 
"humus producing crops" has been applied to them. 

Humus Destroying Crops. Such crops as com, sorghum, 
Kafir corn, wheat, rye, millet, buckwheat, barley, oats, cot- 
ton, flax, hemp, potatoes, and sugar beets, when growTi for 
their seed, forage, root or fiber value, are often called "humus 
destroying" or "humus consuming crops." This term is not 
applied to these crops because they actually consume humus 
as a form of plant food and other kinds of crops do not, but 
only because the residue of stubble and roots from these 
crops, when plowed under, adds very little humus to the soil. 
Experience has shown that, when this class of crops is grown 
continuously on the same area of land, the humus equilib- 
rium is not maintained; in other words, the rate of humus 
decay and consumption is faster than the rate of production. 

When such crops as corn and cotton are grown as culti- 
vated or inter-tillage crops, the decay of humus is particularly 
rapid. The constant stirring of soil with inter-tillage imple- 
ments promotes aeration and moisture conservation, thus 
providing favorable conditions for the decay of organic 
matter. The rapid decay of organic matter in the soil. 



EFFECT OF CROPPING ON SOIL PROPERTIES 



55 



caused by inter-tillage crops, and the attendant disintegra- 
tion of mineral matter resulting from the solvent action of 
acids liberated from the decaying organic matter, produce a 
very favorable condition for the succeeding crop, because 
soluble and available plant food is produced in large amounts. 
When these inter-tillage crops, such as corn and cotton, are 
grown continuously on the same piece of land, the inevitable 
result is the destruction and consumption of humus at a 
faster rate than the rate of production, and thus the soil in 
time loses its natural loaminess, ease of tilth, and produc- 
tivity. 

Crops Which Gather Atmospheric Nitrogen. Nitrogen 
salts, one of the most important groups of plant food, are 




Photo by courtesy Blocki Mantifacluring Company. 

Pea harvesting attachments that can be put on any standard mower. The 
vines gatfier into a cylindrical roll behind the cutter-bar and are dropped out 
behind in a neat windrow. Clearance is given for the following round of the 
team and mower. The vines dry nicely in the windrow. The pea harvester 
is also very useful for cutting clover and alfalfa seed crops, as well as all legume 
forage crops. 



56 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

exhausted rapidly from soils by the seed bearing grain and 
cultivated crops. How to keep the soil supplied with this 
important plant food has ever been a perplexing problem. 
The nitrogen of the soil compounds, when assimilated by 
the plant, is stored up in the seeds and tissues of plants in 
organic compounds. The foods containing large amounts 
of nitrogenous organic compounds are eagerly sought by 
man on account of their strength and muscle giving proper- 
ties. When food products containing nitrogen are taken 
into the human or animal body, the nitrogen is used to 
repair and strengthen the body tissues. The worn out 
tissues of the body are voided from time to time and these 
waste products also contain nitrogen. 

Could all the waste products from human and animal 
bodies be returned immediately to the soil as soon as voided, 
the loss of nitrogen from the soil would not be noticed, but 
this result is rarely accomplished. Probably not one fourth 
of the original amounts of nitrogen in the soil are returned 
again in the waste of animal bodies. This loss occurs be- 
cause the waste products are only partially preserved and 
because fermentation, oxidation, and leaching cause great 
losses in those portions of animal waste that are preserved 
and returned to the soil. 

The waste of nitrogen as well as other forms of plant 
food through city sewers is enormous. Countless tons of 
nitrogen and other essential forms of plant food are brought 
into the great cities in various food products which become 
a total loss to the agricultural soils of the nation, because, 
in the cities, all of the waste products containing plant food 
are diverted into the rivers and the ocean. It is possible 
and practical to recover the fertilizer materials of sewage 
in septic tanks where the sewage is decomposed and sepa- 
rated into pure water and solid matter. Our American 



EFFECT OF CROPPING ON SOIL PROPERTIES 



57 



Cities, however, have never adopted any extensive plans for 
recovering the fertilizer value in sewage. 

Until recent times it was thought that the only means 
for restoring nitrogen to the soil were the waste products 
from animal bodies and the great deposits of nitrogen salts 
that exist in South America. At one time the problem was 
regarded as serious, because the world's deposits of nitrogen 
salts are very limited, and because it is very difficult to re- 
cover the total waste from human and animal bodies. 
Nitrogen, however, exists as a free gas in the atmosphere 

that surrounds the 
Earth, and some years 
ago experiments in 
chemistry revealed 
the fact that certain 
species of small plants 
(bacteria) had the 
ability to assimilate 
atmospheric nitrogen. 
These bacteria live 
together in great col- 
onies and attach them- 
selves to the roots of 
growing plants be- 
longing to the legume 
family — peas, beans, 
clovers, and alfalfa. 
These colonies of small 
plants are parasitic to 
a certain extent on 
the legume plants, but 
they in turn supply 
the legume plant 




From Bui. 94, Illinois Agr. Expt. Station. 

Cowpea roots, about one third natural size, 
showing the tubercles that contain the nitrogen 
gathering bacteria. 



58 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

with nitrogen assimilated from the atmosphere. Thus the 
tissues of legume plants contain atmospheric nitrogen fixed 
in certain organic compounds, and when the roots and stubble 
of these crops are plowed under and buried in the soil, this 
nitrogen is eventually released from the organic compounds 
of the plant and combines with certain mineral elements 
in the soil, in which condition it is available to the roots of 
succeeding crops. 

The legume crops, therefore, not only have great value 
in relation to soil productivity as a means of supplying 
humus, but also of gathering atmospheric nitrogen and in- 
corporating it in the soil. 

The bacteria that are the real agents in collecting and 
storing atmospheric nitrogen in the soil are associated only 
with the legume crops. No nitrogen gathering bacteria are 
associated with such crops as corn, wheat, millet, cotton, 
buckwheat, barley, oats, flax, hemp, tobacco, potatoes or 
sugar beets. These crops must have their nitrogenous 
food supplied to them in the nitrogen salts of the soil. 
They are all crops that soon deplete the nitrogen supply, 
if legume crops are not occasionally grown, or manure 
spread on the land, to check the loss. 

Gross Feeding Crops. The field crops may be divided 
into several groups on the basis of the character of their 
root systems. Gross feeding crops are those that have 
strong, coarse, quick growing and widely reaching roots, 
that branch out in many directions in the soil and thus have 
a large soil area from which to absorb food and water for 
the plant. Typical crops belonging to this group are corn, 
sorghum and the coarser millets. It is a well known fact 
that these crops will thrive fairly well on soils that are not 
in condition to produce large crops of wheat or flax, and the 
principal reason lies in the extensiveness and greater assimi- 



EFFECT OF CROPPING ON SOIL PROPERTIES 59 

lative power of the root systems. Corn roots, for example, 
grow quickly, and soon produce in the soil an enormous 
net work of roots some of which extend five to seven feet. 

Delicate Feeding Crops are those that have comparatively 
fine, slender roots that grow mainly in the furrow-slice, 
and, therefore, confine the crop to a comparatively small 
soil area from which to secure plant food. Typical crops 
belonging to this group are wheat, flax, barley and oats. 

Gross Feeding Crops and Delicate Feeding Crops Com- 
pared. Gross feeding crops by reason of their strong root 
systems are said to be able to prepare their own plant food 
from the soil to a greater extent than crops with slender 
roots that are restricted to a more limited feeding area. 
While it is true that all crops, both gross and delicate feed- 
ers, respond profitably to the best of soil tillage, it is also 
true that gross feeding crops like corn, sorghum and millet, 
will produce relatively greater crops on rough, poorly tilled 
land than will delicate feeding crops such as wheat or flax. 
In other words, the delicate feeding crops to be truly prof- 
itable should receive the most favored places in the rota- 
tion, where the plant food would be in the condition of 
easiest assimilation. Wheat, for example, does not thrive 
well on freshly manured land nor on land that is not in 
most excellent physical condition. The plant food of the 
soil must be in a condition where it is quickly soluble, if 
wheat may be expected to produce large and profitable 
yields. Corn, however, will thrive on freshly manured soil, 
on soil that contains applications of coarse organic matter, 
and on soil where the plant food solution is not exceed- 
ingly strong. 

There are many field crops whose root systems illustrate 
all gradations between a gross, coarse feeding crop such as 
corn, and a very delicate feeding crop such as wheat or flax. 



60 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Rye, barley and oats, for example, are grosser feeding than 
wheat and less so than corn and sorghum. The root crops 
such as potatoes, beets and turnips are grosser feeding than 
flax and less so than corn. Clover and alfalfa, in their 
early periods of growth, are extremely delicate feeders and 
the soil must be very carefully prepared to get the crop 
started. If these crops are once in possession of the soil, 
however, their roots run deep and they become gross 
feeders, the roots penetrating and covering a large soil 
area. 

Shallow and Deep-Rooted Crops. As a rule, those 
crops that are delicate feeders are shallow rooted, and the 
gross feeding crops are deep rooted. Wheat, cotton, flax, 
barley, oats, buckwheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hemp, soy 
beans, timothy, blue grass, brome grass, redtop, and cow- 
peas are called shallow-rooted crops, and alfalfa, clover, 
corn and sorghums are deep-rooted crops. 

The methods by which crops are planted and cultivated 
determine, to a large extent, the character of the root sys- 
tem. Wheat, barley and oats, for example, produce a 
large mass of slender, fibrous roots within the furrow-slice 
when planted in six or seven inch rows with a grain drill. 
Isolated plants of wheat, barley or oats, or rows so planted 
as to permit of inter-tillage, would produce a deeper and 
more extensive root system than plants growing closely 
together. It may thus be seen that the natural differences 
in certain crop root systems are heightened and exaggerated 
by the methods of planting employed. Corn and wheat, 
for example, would produce quite similar root systems under 
similar methods of planting, but when wheat is sown with 
a grain drill in six or seven inch rows and corn is planted 
in hills three and one half feet apart, the root systems are 
very different, and wheat under such conditions is com- 



EFFECT OF CROPPING ON SOIL PROPERTIES 



61 



paratively shallow-rooted and corn comparatively deep- 
rooted. 

A most striking illustration of the difference between 
a shallow and a deep-rooted crop is shown by the root sys- 
tems of wheat and alfalfa. The wheat roots are slender and 
fibrous and grow in greatest profusion in that portion of 

the upper soil known as 
the furrow-slice. The 
alfalfa roots, on the other 
hand, are taproots that 
grow straight down in the 
soil, penetrating to some 
distance in the subsoil 
and throwing out occas- 
ional strong lateral 
branches. Alfalfa roots 
can be easily traced to a 
depth of ten to fifteen feet 
and in some soils to an 
even greater depth. 

Shallow and deep-root- 
ed crops exert a tre- 
mendous influence on the 

An alfalfa root about one fourth to one sixth i • i . i c -i 

natural size. The deep taproots of alfalfa phySlCal tCXturC 01 SOUS. 

and sweet clover are powerful mechanical rrii • •. i i ix r 

agents in the work of opening and mellowing i nC meVltablC rCSUlt 01 

subsoils. J . . . ^ , 

contmuous croppmg with 
shallow-rooted crops on a given area of land is to form a 
hard-pan just beneath the furrow slice, especially so when 
accompanied by shallow plowing. Such a soil cannot 
absorb and supply moisture properly for growing crops, 
and when in such condition the soil area available to 
plant roots is very limited. The effect of growing alfalfa 
or red clover, with their deep growing taproots, is to open 




62 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

up the subsoil, and make it more porous and receptive to 
moisture, and to increase the soil area available to the 
roots of succeeding crops. Such crops as corn, sorghum, 
and Kafir corn, also have an effect on the mellowness and 
porosity of the subsoil, but in a less marked degree than 
clover and alfalfa. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) Approximately what proportion of a plant's substance is water? 

What proportion is dry matter? See page 295. 

(2) What proportion of the dry matter of plant substance is derived 

from plant food in the soil? What proportion from other 
sources? See page 295. 

(3) What is it that gives a black color to most prairie soils? Why 

are the prairie soils of semi-arid regions usually brown in color 
and the prairie soils of humid regions black in color? See 
reference books on soils. 

(4) When grasses grow up and die down again on land for long periods 

of time does the fertility of the soil increase, decrease, or remain 
stationary? 

(5) How many pounds of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are 

removed from an acre of land by a 20 bu. per acre crop of 
wheat including the straw? If the grain is headed and the 
straw plowed under what is the loss of plant food? When 
straw is burned what is lost to the soil other than the amounts 
of phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen sold away in the 
seeds or left in the straw ashes? See page 296. 

(6) Why is it usually profitable to inoculate soil with the bacteria 

that are associated with the various legume crops? How may 
such inoculation be accompUshed for alfalfa, red clover, or soy 
beans? See page 415. 

(7) Compare the influence of the root systems of red clover, alfalfa 

and wheat on the physical texture of surface soil and subsoil? 

(8) Examine carefully the root systems of corn, wheat, flax, potatoes, 

cowpeas, alfalfa and red clover while growing in the field. Use 
a spade and a garden hose, if possible, to study the size and 
extent of the root systems. 



EFFECT OF CROPPING ON SOIL PROPERTIES 63 

(9) Examine the roots of clover, cowpeas, soy beans or alfalfa on land 
well infected with bacteria and on land that has not been 
inoculated. Note the number and size of the root tubercles. 
(10) Write a 1,000 word essay on the function of humus in soils, 
discussing its effects on the physical and chemical properties 
of various kinds of soils. Also discuss methods for maintaining 
or increasing the supply of humus in the soil. 




Pholo by courtesy Northern Pacific Railway. 
A ninety ton stack of alfalfa hay. Stacking hay with a derrick saves hard 
work and expense, and makes it possible to build large stacks having a minimum 
amount of waste hay per ton. 



CHAPTER III 

THE EFFECT OF CONTINUOUS CROPPING ON 

PRODUCTIVITY, PLANT DISEASES, 

INSECTS AND WEEDS 

In the preceding paragraphs occasional references have 
been made to tlie effect which various classes of crops have 
on the physical texture and the fertility of the soil. These 
facts, already stated, together with other facts pertaining 
to this same subject, may be summarized as follows: 

The Effect on the Soil of a Continuous Succession of 
Grain Crops. When the grain crops, such as wheat, oats, 
rye, barley, millet and flax, are grown year after year on 
the same piece of land, and the crop products removed, the 
supply of humus is gradually decreased until the soil 
loses its loaminess and its power to supply various ele- 
ments of plant food in sufficient amounts for profitable 
yields. A soil without humus may contain abundant 
amounts of the necessary elements of plant food and 
yet be unproductive, because these elements of plant 
food are in firmly fixed chemical compounds unavailable to 
plant roots. Such a condition could not exist in a soil 
containing plentiful supplies of humus, for the humus 
provides the necessary conditions for soil decay and the plac- 
ing of plant food in solution easily available to plant roots. 

The grain crops also are delicate feeders and their root 
systems are not strong and far reaching. Plant food, es- 
pecially nitrogen, must be plentifully supplied and easily 
accessible in the soil or else these crops do not produce 
heavily. The inevitable result of continuous grain cropping 
is to consume the available plant food of the soil at a faster 



EFFECTS OF CONTINUOUS CROPPING 65 

rate than new supplies are liberated, and so, ultimately, 
the soil is unproductive of grain crops whose roots are 
delicate and confined to a relatively small area. These 
statements are not so applicable to field peas and soy beans, 
when grown for seed production, as in case of such grain 
crops as wheat, oats and barley; for the peas and beans are 
crops that gather atmospheric nitrogen. 

Shallow plowing has usually been a feature of con- 
tinuous grain growing in the United States, and under such 
conditions of farming there is a tendency for subsoils to 
become more compact than when deeper plowing and crop 
rotation are practiced. A nard, compact subsoil does not 
make a good reservoir for the storage of soil moisture. 
Heavy rains are not absorbed quickly in such a subsoil and 
roots cannot penetrate deeply to obtain moisture. At all 
seasons a hard subsoil is unfavorable for root development. 

Weeds accumulate very rapidly and are difficult to 
eradicate on land that is subjected to continuous grain 
cropping. Weeds rob the crops of moisture, plant food, 
and sunshine, and their seeds injure the market value of 
the cereals unless additional labor is provided to separate 
the weed seeds from the grain. Weeds accumulate quickly 
on grain growing lands, because many of them grow up with 
the crop and scatter their seeds on the ground before the 
crop is harvested. These seeds are then plowed into the 
soil and placed in favorable conditions to germinate and 
produce another generation of weeds. Weed seeds, also, 
may be carried over from one year to another with the seed 
grain, but they can be eliminated in the case of most 
weeds by carefully cleaning the seed grain with a fanning mill. 

The Effects on the Soil of a Continuous Succession of 
Cultivated Crops. Such difficulties as weed eradication 
and the hardening of subsoils are not so apparent when cul- 



66 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

tivated crops, such as corn or sorghum, are grown continu- 
ously, as under a system of continuous grain cropping. 
Weeds are easily kept in check by summer cultivation, 
and the stronger roots of these crops open the subsoil to 
a certain extent. 

The chief trouble caused by a continuous succession of 
cultivated crops is that the constant stirring of the soil de- 
cays humus at a rapid rate, and, while this process is con- 
ducive to big yields during the time that the original supply 
of humus is great in the soil, it is a decidedly unprofitable 
practice when long continued. If soil is continually sub- 
jected to summer cultivation, the decay of humus becomes 
very rapid. During this process of decay more nitrogen 
may be liberated than can be immediately used by the 
crop or fixed and stored away in the soil as plant food. 
Such excess amounts of nitrogen are largely lost through 
leaching. Thus, in time, the soil becomes deficient in 
nitrogenous plant food unless it is liberally manured and 
fertilized. 

A continuous succession of cultivated crops on hillside 
lands permits of annual soil erosions that soon carry away 
the finest and most valuable soil particles and deposit them 
on the low lands and river bottoms. The cultivated crop, 
with its loose surface soil and the furrows that lead and draw 
water, is an aid to the natural processes of soil erosion and 
should not be used continuously on hillside lands. 

The Effects on the Soil of a Continuous Succession of 
Grass Crops. Even the grass crops, with their ability to 
produce humus, to prevent leaching and soil washing, and, 
in the case of clovers and alfalfa, to push their taproots into 
the subsoil, cannot be grown continuously for many years 
with maximum profits. When grass crops, such as timothy and 
brome grass, occupy the soil for many years, the upper crust 



EFFECTS OF CONTINUOUS CROPPING 67 

of soil becomes a thick mat of roots crowding each other for 
air, moisture and plant food. The crop becomes sodbound 
and the yields decrease greatly, due to the crowded condition 
of the roots. When the grass crop reaches this stage, the 
turf should be broken, and the plow, the harrow, and the cul- 
tivated crop be allowed to assist the decay of the turf and 
to loosen and improve the physical texture of the soil. 

The same conditions are met when alfalfa and clover are 
allowed to occupy the land for many years. Red clover 
cannot profitably occupy the land for more than two or three 
years; for its natural life is only two years, and, after this 
period has closed, the crop can maintain itself only by natural 
seeding, which is always scattering and, therefore, pro- 
ductive of low yields. Soil is said to become "clover 
sick" or "alfalfa sick" when these crops remain on the land 
too many years. This soil condition is thought to be due to 
the accumulations of crop residues in the soil which prove 
unfavorable to the continuous growth of one kind of crops. 
This simply means in a practical sense, that the conditions 
within the soil have ceased to be favorable for the roots of 
these crops, and that the soil, to yield its maximum products, 
needs tillage and aeration and a change in the character of 
plant life. Old alfalfa sod can be benefited by thorough disk- 
ing and manuring, and the crop is thus stimulated to further 
production. Even these methods, however, fail to make of 
alfalfa a permanently productive crop on the same soil area. 
Eventually a change of crop is desirable. 

The Efifect of Continuous Cropping on the Soil's Supply of 
Available Plant Food. The total supply of plant food matter 
in the soil and the supply which is actually available to crops 
are two radically different factors. Only a small portion of 
the total supply of the elements of plant food in the soil is in 
an available condition to growing crops at any given time. 



68 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

The plant food of the soil must undergo certain chemical 
changes and must be in solution in soil water before crop 
roots can assimilate it. The soil must be well drained, must 
be supplied with decaying organic matter, and must be thor- 
oughly tilled and aerated, if conditions are provided that will 
bring about the chemical changes whereby plant food is 
rendered available to crop roots. 

If these conditions are not provided, the result is that the 
crops draw on the soil's supply of available plant food until 
it is partially or entirely exhausted and the soil becomes un- 
productive. The continuous cropping of any one class of 
crops tends to draw heavily on the available plant food of the 
soil and to ultimately check the chemical changes in the soil 
that liberate plant food and render it available for crop roots. 
The soil conditions necessary to the liberation of plant food 
are best provided when the grain, grass, and cultivated 
crops alternately occupy the soil. 

The Effect of Crop Residues on the Growth of a Succeed- 
ing Crop of the Same Species. The unproductivity of soils 
subjected to continuous cropping is further explained in 
modern chemistry and bacteriology by a study of the effect 
of crop residues on the growth of a succeeding crop of the 
same species. It is believed that crop roots in their growth 
excrete waste products that remain in the soil and unfavor- 
ably affect the root growth of a succeeding crop of the same 
species. In time the soil may store up enough of these poi- 
sonous waste products to materially check the growth of that 
particular species of plants. Such a condition is avoided 
when various kinds of crops are alternated. The addition of 
animal manures to soil is also a valuable practice in remedy- 
ing this unfavorable condition produced by waste products; 
for, in the decay and oxidation of the manure, the poisonous 
waste plant products are absorbed and rendered harmless, 



EFFECTS OF CONTINUOUS CROPPING 69 

just as the poisonous and foul matter in water is absorbed 
when the water is put through a charcoal filter. 

It is highly probable that further investigations in soil 
chemistry, plant physiology and bacteriology will give many 
additional explanations for the unproductivity of soils sub- 
jected to continuous cropping. But, whatever the reasons 
and explanations offered, the remedy will undoubtedly re- 
main unchanged, namely, the rotation of the grain, grass 
and cultivated crops. 

Continuous Cropping and the Control of Plant Diseases 
and Insect Pests. The control of plant diseases and insect 
pests is also very difficult when continuous cropping is prac- 
ticed. This is easily explained, if it is realized that the extent 
of an epidemic of insect pests or plant diseases is mainly de- 
pendent upon the supply of food available to the pest, and 
that it is the crop affected by the disease or the insect that 
supplies the food. Thus, if large areas of a particular crop are 
grown year after year in any locality, a constant supply of food 
is provided for these crop enemies and they thrive accordingly. 

An excellent example of how a crop disease flourishes 
under a scheme of continuous cropping is shown in the case 
of ''flax wilt," a fungus disease affecting the growth of the 
flax crop. Flax wilt is caused by a fungus that is parasitic 
on the roots of flax. The fungus plant develops among 
the root and lower stem tissues of the flax plant and gradually 
starves its host by absorbing the plant food in its cells. It 
lives in the soil for several seasons on the decaying roots and 
stubble of the flax crop. Thus, if flax is grown continuously 
on the land, the fungus disease is able to attack the successive 
crops of flax and cause considerable damage. If flax is 
rotated with other crops, however, the flax wilt fungus dies 
out after a few seasons, because it loses its vitality, if it cannot 
become parasitic on the flax crop occasionally 



70 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) What are the best methods to employ in eradicating wild oats, 

mustard, corn cockle, Canadian thistle, and quack grass in 
systems of continuous grain growing, or on a badly infested 
farm? See page 436. 

(2) Collect samples of the important noxious weeds of your locaUty. 

Famiharize yourself with the roots, seeds, and general appear- 
ance of these weeds. Study the best methods for eradicating 
these \\'eeds and discuss the effect of systematic crop rotation 
on the Ufe history of each weed. 

,3) Study the adjustment and operation of the fanning mill to sepa- 
rate various kinds of weed seed from seed grain. 

v'-l) Examine the soil in some field that is known to have grown 
cultivated crops for a long term of years, also the soil in some 
fields where meadow and pasture crops or green manure crops 
liave been alternated with cultivated crops. Compare these 
soil samples carefully in the laboratory. 

(5) Examine the furrow-shce area of an old timothy sod. Note the 

number and extent of the roots in proportion to the amount of 
soil. 

(6) Learn the essential facts about the life histories of the chinch bug, 

Hessian fly, army worm, grasshopper, flax wilt, potato scab, 
and corn smut, and find out what effect continuous cropping 
has on these crop enemies. See page 428 of this book, also 
reference books on entomology. 



CHAPTER IV 
ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 

General Results Accomplished by Crop Rotation. Crop 
rotation has been previously defined as a system of growing 
the grain, grass, and cultivated crops on a given area of land in 
such order and such succession as to keep the soil in a high 
state of productivity. From the preceding paragraphs it 
may be noted that successions of grain crops such as wheat, 
barley and oats ; cultivated crops, such as corn and cotton or 
corn and potatoes; or successions of grass crops, such as 
timothy followed by clover and brome grass, are not rotations 
or changes of crops that vary much in their effect on the 
productivity of the soil. They are merely successions of 
crops bearing different names, but having similar effects 
on soil productivity. 

When the grain, grass, and cultivated crops, however, are 
alternated on the land, the result is, that, with thorough 
tillage methods, the soil is kept free from weeds and in a con- 
dition of good tilth and productivity. The rotation of grain, 
grass, and cultivated crops provides a system of field man- 
agement in which the humus consuming and humus pro- 
ducing crops, nitrogen consuming and nitrogen gathering 
crops, and the deep and shallow rooted crops alternately 
occupy the soil. As a result, the furrow-slice and the subsoil 
just beneath the furrow-slice are kept in a continual state of 
decay, so that plant food is at all times available to plant 
roots and crop residues are not injurious to succeeding crops. 

Crop Rotation and the Control of Weeds, Crop Diseases 
and Insect Pests. Noxious weeds have great difficulty in 
maintaining their existence on land subjected to a systematic 



72 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

rotation of grain, grass and cultivated crops. If weed seeds 
accumulate during the time that grain crops occupy the land, 
the weed plants in succeeding years must contend with strong 
growing grass crops for the possession of the soil or be uproot- 
ed by cultivation during the period when cultivated crops are 
on the land. Many weed seeds, buried in the soil, lose their 
vitality during the years that grass crops occupy the land. 
If the weed seed possesses the power of remaining dormant 
yet vital for several years, it will not be destroyed by the 
grass crop, but will come to hght and flourish as soon as the 
grass land is plowed up. Its chances for propagation, how- 
ever, are very slight if a cultivated crop is grown, for the 
process of inter-tillage during the summer months is pretty 
sure to destroy the growth of weeds. 

The rotation of various kinds of crops on the land is 
undoubtedly a severe check to widespread epidemics of such 
fungus diseases as rust, smut and flax wilt or insect pests 
such as chinch bugs, Hessian fly, army worm, and grass- 
hoppers. The reasons are that in case of crop rotation the 
extent of the area of any given crop in any region or locality 
is lunited, as compared to vast areas of the same crop con- 
tiguous to one another. Thus the epidemic cannot accumulate 
so rapidly and spread so far, with attendant losses, because 
the area of the crop on which the epidemic feeds and accumu- 
lates is interspersed with areas of other crops. Likewise it 
is more difficult for crop diseases and insect pests to carry 
over from one year to the next, if various classes of crops are 
being alternately grown on the soil; for a sudden change in 
the methods of soil preparation and kind of crop that occupies 
the soil will disturb and interrupt the propagation of the 
fungus disease or the insect pest. 

Crop Rotation, The Use of Live Stock, and the Relation 
Which Live Stock Has to Soil Fertility. A succession of 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 



73 



crops that does not include hay and pasture crops is sure to be 
destructive to the humus supply of the soil. Green manure 
crops, it is true, can be occasionally introduced and the 
organic matter which they produce plowed under to enrich 
the soil. But the green manure crop is comparatively expen- 
sive. It entails an outlay for seed and labor, and it gives no 
direct returns — only a return in the increased yield from 
succeeding crops. The so-called grass crops, however, will 
provide humus supplies for the soil and also yield marketable 
products in the form of hay and pasture crops. 

To obtain the greatest possible returns from these grass 
crops it is necessary that hve stock be kept on the farms. 
Without live stock to utilize hay and pasture crops and to 




Photo by courtesy "The Farmer." 
Mowing the"grass crop" of clover and timothy. Rotation meadow and pas- 
ture crops, utilized by live stock, offer the easiest and cheapest method for 
maintaining the soil's supply of humus. 



74 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

manufacture meat and milk therefrom, the grass crop, in 
many locaHties, has no market value, and can be regarded as 
a profitable part of the rotation only in the same sense as a 
green manure crop is regarded profitable, namely, as a 
producer of humus. In some localities hay products have a 
cash value, and the grass crop portion of the rotation can be 
turned into cash without the use of live stock on the farm. 
When these methods are followed, however, there is a loss of 
humus and plant food from the soil that would largely be 
recovered in manure, if the grass crops were fed to live stock. 

Agricultural experience, the world over, has shown that 
in the long run the system of farming that includes live stock 
and grass crops is the most profitable. When good markets 
exist for live stock products, the grass crop portion of the 
rotation is usually more profitable than the grain or cereal 
portion, providing, of course, that the grass crops are intelli- 
gently grown and that good types of live stock are used and 
intelligently managed. Grass crops are more cheaply pro- 
duced than grain or cultivated crops (average cost about one 
half that of the other crops) and the cost of a pasture crop is 
very little besides the fixed charges on the land, as the live 
stock harvests the crop free of costs. The marketing charges 
for live stock products, per acre of land, are much less than 
for grain products, because the crop products fed to live 
stock are concentrated by the animals and delivered in the 
markets in the least bulky form. 

Live stock farming as a business is much more difficult to 
manage than grain farming. It requires more diversified 
knowledge and more capital. It is, therefore, rarely under- 
taken by the pioneer farmer on virgin soil areas adapted to 
grain growing or associated with grain production in an inten- 
sive scheme of farming in regions of sparse population not 
tributary to great centers of dense population. But, as 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 75 

agricultural regions become thickly settled and the soil loses its 
natural stores of humus and available fertility, successful agri- 
culture becomes almost dependent upon the use of live stock. 

It is not difficult to see why live stock is so essential to a 
permanent and abiding system of agriculture, if thought is 
given to the differing effects which continuous grain cropping 
and live stock farming have on the productivity of the soil. 
Incase of grain farming, the mineral elements of the soil that 
have been taken up by the crop are sold away entirely from 
the farm; the humus, nitrogen, and other plant food supplies 
of the soil are reduced too low for successful crop growth ; and 
the shallow rooted crops soon put the soil in an undesirable 
physical condition. When live stock farming and grain farm- 
ing are combined, however, the soil tends to stay permanently 
in a productive condition. Grass crops accompany the use 
of live stock, and the taproots of clover and alfalfa open and 
mellow the subsoil, while the matted turf of roots and stems 
produced by meadow and pasture crops, when plowed under, 
adds humus to the soil, and maintains a desirable physical 
condition within the soil. Morever, only small amounts of 
plant food are sold from the land when live stock farming is 
combined with grain culture. The manure and urine from 
live stock contain more than three fourths of the original 
elements of plant food taken up by the plants and consumed 
by the live stock. Thus, if these waste animal products are 
returned to the soil soon after they are voided, the actual loss 
of plant food is greatly lessened. 

Experiments in crop growing have always shown that, 
no matter how skilfully crops are grown and rotated, the 
total yield of crop products through a series of years from 
unmanured fields is never equal to the yield from a similar 
rotation in which the land is occasionally manured. The 
beneficial effects of manuring soil can be noted for many 



76 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



years after the manure has been applied. Not only does 
manure directly add available plant food to the soil, but it 
also provides humus and acid solvents that assist soil decay 
and make supplies of raw plant food available to crop roots 
in succeeding years. 

The most desirable system of cropping, therefore, as 
regards soil fertility, is one in which the grain, grass, and 
cultivated crops are alternated, and in which the grass 
crops and a portion of the grain crops are fed to live stock, 
the manure from the live stock being returned to the soil 
as soon as possible after it is voided. 




The litter carrier takes the manure from the stalls to the manure spreader 
at the minimum of expense. During late autumn, winter and eariy spring 
manure should be hauled directly to the fields to avoid losses in value from leach- 
ing and fermentation. 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 



77 



The problem of maintaining soil productivity without 
live stock is more difficult than with live stock. Without 
live stock and grass crops, the farmer must resort to com- 
mercial fertilizers (the by-products of meat packing plants 
or the nitrogen, phosphate, and potash salts taken from 
mines) and green manures, if the soil is kept in a continual 
state of high productivity. Both of these processes demand 
an advance outlay of money and labor, and the returns 
are not direct, as in the case of live stock. Green manure 
crops, however, are of great value in keeping soils in good 
tilth and they afford a good substitute for grass crops and 




When fall plowing is leveled with the harrow, it is not difficult to spread the 
manure on the plowing during the winter months. Spring disking works the 
manure into the seed bed where the plant food is available to young crop roots, 
and where the manure mulches the land during the summer season. This is 
the ideal method for preparing corn ground. 



78 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

the manure from live stock. They may be grown as catch 
crops between regular crops and plowed into the soil when 
they have matured sufficiently to have developed a large 
mass of foliage, and thus they will not seriously interfere 
with the growing of regular market crops. 

The addition of large amounts of organic matter — pro- 
duced by a green manure crop — to a worn out soil increases 
the productivity of the soil very noticeably, and, in agricul- 
tural regions where great live stock markets do not exist, 
where grass crops cannot be universally grown and prof- 
itably fed to live stock, or where the natural preference of 
the farmer is for extensive grain, corn or cotton growing, 
the occasional use of green manure crops is a practical 
necessity in maintaining soil productivity. 

Crop Rotation and the Maintenance of The Soil's Supply 
of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Among all the 
chemical compounds of the soil that are assimilated by 
crops during their growth, those compounds containing 
nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are most essential to 
the development of the plant. In previous paragraphs it 
has been shown that nitrogen can be supplied to the soil by 
means of legume crops and the nitrogen gathering bacteria 
associated with them. Thus it is possible to restore and 
even increase the supplies of nitrogen in the soil. The soil's 
supply of phosphorus and potassium, however, is dependent 
upon the original supplies in the rock materials that make up 
the body of the soil. The total amounts of these elements of 
plant food in the soil can be increased only by the addition 
of commercial fertilizers which contain phosphorus and 
potassium, such as ground bones, phosphate rock, wood 
ashes, and the Stassfurt potash salts from Germany. These 
fertilizers are expensive and impractical of use for a vast 
majority of the world's farmers. Thus it may be seen that 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 79 

the original supplies of phosphorus and potassium in the 
soil must always be the main supplies for plant growth. 
Potassium is more abundant in soils than phosphorus. 
Phosphorus is more likely to be lacking in soils than any 
other element of plant food. 

Only a small portion of the phosphorus and potassium 
compounds of the soil is in such a form that plant roots 
may assimilate it. The larger part is quite firmly fixed in 
nearly stable chemical compounds, and the disintegration 
of these compounds and the releasing of the supplies of phos- 
phorus and potassium is a slow and gradual process. Grad- 
ual disintegration of these chemical compounds is absolutely 
necessary, if the soil continues to be productive. The 
necessary conditions in the soil to bring about this disinte- 
gration are: (1) the presence of decaying organic matter 
and the acid solvents produced therefrom; (2) the presence 
of moisture in sufficient amounts for plant growth; (3) a 
condition of soil tilth that facilitates the movement of air 
in the soil; (4) the presence of certain soil bacteria which 
assist in the decay of organic matter and the production of 
acid solvents, such as nitric acid. 

When these conditions are maintained in the soil, the 
decay and disintegration of soil material are continuous, and 
all naturally productive soils will continue for long periods 
of time to yield phosphorus and potassium in sufficient 
amounts for good crop growth. If the method of farming fails 
to provide these conditions, however, a severe check is given 
to the production of available phosphorus and potassium, 
and crops are soon starved for these necessary plant foods. 

When true crop rotation is practiced, with live stock to 
utilize pasture and forage crops, the farmer needs to worry 
but little over the supplies of phosphorus and potassium for 
his crops, providing the soil is not naturally deficient in 



80 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

these elements of plant food. Humus producing crops 
keep the soil well supplied with humus and acid solvents. 
Animal manures provide humus and acid solvents" as well 
as return to the soil actual plant food which crops' have 
taken up in their growth. The cultivation and tillage of 
the soil necessary for the grain and cultivated crops aerate 
the soil and keep it in good physical condition. Under 
these conditions, as soil ages it keeps in a productive con- 
dition and its supplies of plant food are renewed from within. 

As time passes, the plow and the cultivator run a little 
deeper, year by year, and fresh soil is brought into the 
furrow-slice where its stores of phosphorus and potassium 
are liberated for the crops. Soils that are naturally defi- 
cient in phosphorus, or soils that have been badly worn by 
crops which remove large amounts of phosphorus, cannot 
be kept productive, so far as phosphorus is concerned, 
through crop rotation and careful tillage. Under such 
conditions there is no large reserve supply of phosphorus to 
draw on and phosphate fertilizers must be used to amend 
the phosphorus deficiencies of the soil and to thus maintain 
crop yields at a high level. 

It is a mis-statement of fact to say that crop rotation 
increases the fertility of the soil, for this it does not do. 
As a matter of fact, crop rotation causes greater amounts 
of plant food to be taken from the soil than the practice 
of continuous cropping, because crop yields are usually 
larger. The advantages lie in the fact that plant food, 
under a crop rotation system, is drawn from a more exten- 
sive soil area than under continuous cropping, and that a 
physical condition is maintained in the soil that continually 
makes new supplies of plant food available to the crops 
from the reserve supplies in the soil. In the one case soils 
may become barren and unproductive, because the plant 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 81 

food of the soil is not in an available condition, and in the 
other case productivity is maintained for long periods of time, 
because the reserve plant food of the soil is made available to 
crop roots. Furthermore, when crop rotation is accompanied 
by animal husbandry the actual loss of plant food from 
the soil is much less than it would be otherwise; for live 
stock provides a check to the dii-ect outgo of plant food. 

Crop Rotation, Farm Labor and Business Management. 
The advantages previously accredited to crop rotation have 
referred mainly to the problems of soil fertility and produc- 
tivity. Successful agriculture in modem times, however, 
is by no means confined to the art of preserving soil fertility. 
Business and commercial principles are as important factors 
in farm management as the scientific principles of soil man- 
agement or the principles of animal husbandry. 

As the agriculture of any nation emerges from the barter 
stage and enters the realm of commerce it becomes essential 
that the farmer, if he be successful, shall be something more 
than a tiller of the soil. Agriculture in modern times is 
becoming complicated. The farmer comes in contact with 
the commercial problems of the markets and the problems 
of farm labor in a much more intimate manner than in the 
days when each community satisfied its wants with the local 
products from the soil and the forest. Not only does the 
march of civilization impose on the farmer the task of master- 
ing knowledge about soil fertility, but also the task of master- 
ing system and business methods in the conduct of his 
affairs. The farming methods that existed in the pioneer 
days of a nation become obsolete as the land becomes fully 
occupied and of high value, and as the people extend their 
business from petty local trade to foreign commerce.* 

*See discussion at end of chapter on "Value of Land a Factor in Determining 
the Most Profitable System of Farming." 



82 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Systematic rotation of crops is a great aid to the successful 
management of any farm. It is not the one and only remedy 
for worn out soils and for badly managed farms, but it is one 
of the fundamental principles to observe in giving business 
system and science to the management of a farm. The 
farmer who has planned a scheme of crop rotation suited to 
his conditions, and put that scheme into operation, has built 




Photo by courtesy Deere and Company. 

The side delivery rake windrowing clover and timothy hay. The hay is 

dried on one side in the swath and then rolled into loose windrows to complete 

the drying. When the hay is handled from the windrow with the hay loader, 

labor is economized and there is but small loss of leaves. 

his business on a sure foundation, and the farm can be man- 
aged much more systematically and efficiently than without 
a definite, basic plan of crop production. 

Many advantages of an economic or business nature can 
be cited as the result of systematic crop rotation. In a 
general sense, crop rotation distributes and diffuses farm 
labor through the various seasons of the year and minimizes 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 8» 

the acute demand for labor at the planting and harvest sea- 
sons; and this is a most important feature of farm manage- 
ment. The farmer whose business is confined to growing 
one or two of the staple crops such as wheat, corn, cotton, or 
potatoes, must keep horses, machinery, buildings and labor 
available to plant and harvest these crops in the proper 
seasons. If he is compelled to hire day labor during these 
seasons of seedtime and harvest, he must compete in the 
labor market with thousands of other farmers seeking labor 
at these seasons, and must pay high wages for his extra help. 
During the winter and some of the summer months, horses, 
machinery and men must be idle on these "one crop" farms, 
and thus the fixed charges for upkeep of horses, machinery, 
and other forms of fixed capital, are comparatively high, 
because the most efficient use possible is not made of this 
portion of the farmer's capital. 

Contrast this one problem of labor on the "one crop" 
farm with the situation on a farm where crop rotation is 
practiced. It is self-evident that, when a variety of crops 
such as wheat, barley, corn, potatoes, and the meadow and 
pasture crops are grown on the same farm, the labor of 
planting, harvesting and preparing the soil for crops will be 
distributed through longer seasons than if one or two crops 
only were grown on account of the difference in the crops 
themselves, and thus the problem of keeping horses, men and 
machinery constantly employed is at least partially solved. 

Crop rotation, with its inclusion of the meadow and 
pasture crops, also demands that live stock be kept on the 
farm to make profitable use of these grass crops. The keep- 
ing of live stock also distributes farm labor through the vari- 
ous seasons and provides profitable winter work for men 
and horses when the "one crop" farmer and his horses are idle 
and unproductive. Some winter work can alwaj^s be found 



84 



FIELD 3IANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



when live stock is one of the farm's enterprises. The work 
of hauling and distributing manure, grinding feed, and the 
care of the live stock keeps the farmer, his men, and his 
horses busy at all times. Of course arguments like these do 
not appeal to men who have no desire to work steadily and 
make the most of their capital and their labor, but they are 




Photo by courtesy "The Farmer." 

With good calves, good milking mothers, clover or alfalfa pastures, rich 
grain rations, and some succulent feed such as ensilage or roots, baby beef can 
be marketed at fifteen or sixteen months of age at a profit that greatly enhances 
the value of the crops utilized. 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 85 

logical arguments to the farmer desirous of systematizing 
the business side of agriculture. These arguments become 
particularly important in regions where land values are high 
and where transient labor is scarce and costly. 

When forage crops, as well as many kinds of grain crops, 
are fed to live stock, it is possible to enhance the value of 
crops. Live stock feeding is, in reality, a manufacturing 
enterprise, the products of which have a value greater than 
the raw products out of which they are made. When 
forage crops and grain are intelligently fed to good types of 
live stock, the value of the crops is usually increased to a 
considerable extent. This feature of animal husbandry is 
distinct from the problems of soil productivity, and is worthy 
of consideration as an important business feature of farm 
management. The finished product usually sells for a greater 
profit than the raw product. The farm manager who is a 
good husbandman can usually obtain a higher price for 
many of his crops when marketed through live stock than 
when crops are directly marketed. 

The relation of crop rotation and live stock to the waste 
products of farming is a matter of considerable importance in 
farm management. It is always a noticeable fact about "one 
crop" farms that waste occurs, because the handling of one 
large crop in a short period of time forces hastily performed 
work that is often so careless as to cause waste and damage, 
particularly at the harvest season. Large values are lost in 
waste crop products also, on all farms where live stock is not 
kept. For example, in the harvesting of potatoes, many 
bushels of small potatoes are always left on the fields by the 
pickers, as well as the bruised and covered tubers left by the 
diggers. If swine or sheep can be driven over the potato 
fields after the marketable crop has been removed, they will 
literally grow fat on the waste part of the harvest. When 



86 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Canadian field or wrinkled peas are harvested, it is impossible 
to so harvest the crop as not to leave several bushels per 
acre of waste peas on the land. Swine or sheep will fatten at 
no expense on these waste products. When corn is husked 
in the field, also, there is always some waste that cattle and 
hogs will utilize, if the farm manager has the live stock 
available at the proper time. It is an old saying that "sheep 
will live on the waste products of the farm," and it is true. 
The farm manager cannot neglect the waste products of crop 
growing, if he plans to make the greatest returns possible 
from his land and his equipment. Crop rotation and the use 
of live stock reduce the losses on crop waste products to the 



mmimum. 




Photo by courtesy "The Fanner ." 

A small band of sheep is a profitable investment on any farm. They help 
the farmer to keep weeds under control, and they pay dividends from much of 
the waste material incidental to crop production. 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 87 

Crop rotation is sometimes said to provide insurance 
against loss from fluctuating markets and from climatic crop 
risks. There is some truth in the saying. Sudden and vio- 
lent market fluctuations in various farm products often mean 
great gain or great loss to the producer. If "one crop" farm- 
ing is practiced, the farmer may occasionally have a large 
stock of produce on hand to sell in a high priced market and 
thus reap great profits; but years of low prices may affect his 
profits adversely in the same proportion. Farmers who 
practice crop rotation, however, must market a variety of 
products each year, and low prices in one class of products 
may be counterbalanced by high prices in another class of 
products. The rotation plan is more reliable and less subject 
to the ups and downs of business than a scheme of farm man- 
agement built on one or two crops. 

The same arguments apply to the losses that occur 
from unforeseen and unfavorable climatic conditions. 
Storms or drouth that severely injure wheat may not affect 
corn, and a season of very heavy rain that may injure corn 
will increase the products from meadows and pastures. 
When all these crops are being produced annually, the danger 
from loss due to drouth, heavy storms, or excessive rain, 
is greatly minimized, and the system can be said "to pro- 
vide insurance against loss from climatic conditions." 

The fact that live stock is usually kept on farms where 
crop rotation is practiced is an important factor in min- 
imizing losses from unfavorable climatic conditions. For 
example, if a crop of small grain is badly lodged after it is 
headed out it is almost a total loss unless it can be pastured 
off at once. Again, in seasons of drouth, the straw of small 
grains may be too short to permit of cutting with a binder, 
and unless live stock is available to pasture off such crops, 
the labor of plowing and seeding, as well as the seed value, 



88 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

is a loss to the farm. Of course, when these unforeseen 
crop conditions arise, it is possible for the farm manager 
to buy feeder stock or to lease the land to stock owners, 
but in such cases the owner of the damaged crop is forced 
to take the short end of the bargain unless he owns his 
own live stock and can pasture off the damaged crop at once. 
Perhaps the greatest business advantage that may be 
attributed to crop rotation is that it teaches system and 
organization to the farm manager. Crop rotation, to be 
successful, must be systematic and be carried out carefully 
and precisely. System and organization soon become 
apparent in all departments of a farm where regular crop 
rotation is practiced; for it cannot be practiced in a hap- 
hazard, unsystematic manner. It injects system and 
organization into all the affairs of the farm, and these things 
are in well nigh universal need. 



VALUE OF LAND A FACTOR IN DETERMINING THE MOST 
PROFITABLE SYSTEM OF FARMING. 

(From Bulletin 73, Bureau of Statistics, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) 

Profits constitute one of the factors which operate to fix the market 
value of land. A clear illustration of the manner in which profits affect 
the market value of agricultural land is seen in the effect which the 
location of a beet-sugar factory has upon land values in its immediate 
vicinity. A demonstration that greater net profits can be made from 
sugar-beet culture than from grain growing or corn and hog farming will 
tend to appreciate the value of all land within the territory of the 
factory. Land owners will quote their land higher than prior to the 
estabUshment of the new industry, whether they are producing beets or 
not. 

Location is undoubtedly an important factor in determining profits 
and, therefore, in determining the market value of land; fertihty or 
productivity of the soil is relatively a less important factor as compared 
with location. Poor land near good markets and with good transpor- 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 89 

tation facilities may yield greater profits per acre from crops adapted to 
such locations than will the most fertile soils remote from good markets. 
Thus good roads, the increase of city industries, the use of refrigerator 
cars, and many other factors of a similar nature all tend to make land 
more accessible, to better its location, to increase the opportunities for 
profit making, and to cause an increase in the market values of the land. 

A number of special causes which have influenced profits in American 
agriculture and caused appreciation in land values are worthy of men- 
tion. The coming of the settler into the grazing lands west of the Mis- 
souri River increased the value of Dakota farm lands, because the profits 
per acre in wheat culture, even with poor tillage, were greater than those 
in grazing cattle, and as wheat supplanted grazing the price of wild land 
was quoted on the basis of profits in wheat, not cattle. Again, the 
introduction of new crops and machinery has had much to do with 
increasing land values. Durum wheat has made profitable much 
semi-arid land that was capitalized very low prior to the introduction 
of that crop, and many a new farm machine, the creation of American 
genius, has increased the profits from the soil. The partial passing of 
the widespread cotton-crop "lien system" in the South has greatly 
influenced the profits from southern soil and caused a noticeable increase 
in farm-land values. 

It is not uncommon in modern American agriculture to find com- 
munities in which land values have doubled or trebled since the days of 
settlement, and yet there has been little or no change therein in the 
system of farming. New and improved machinery has taken the place 
of old and relatively inefficient machinery, and buildings have usually 
increased in number, size, and usefulness. The crops, the methods of 
cropping and of marketing have nevertheless remained unchanged in 
many instances, although the land has appreciated in value 100 per cent 
or more. In such communities the market value of the land has been 
influenced, not by profits on land within the territory, but by those on 
other land equally well located, under similar chmatic conditions, that 
has yielded profits proportionate to the higher capitalization. 

One reason why profits from farm lands are not always in proportion 
to the market value of the land is that men who secured homesteads or 
cheap land soon became independent, debts were wiped out, a living 
was assured, and the habit of cropping the land with the methods of 
early times persisted even though other men on similar land might be 
reaping greater profits. Such men or such communities not having 



90 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

interest accounts to pay on the new valuations may not have been 
forced into more profitable systems of farming. Many such commu- 
nities could be cited in the old wheat-growing regions of Minnesota and 
the corn-growing sections of Illinois. Such land may yield a fair profit 
on the original capitalization and enable the owner to create a surplus, 
but how different the situation becomes to the man who buys a piece of 
high priced land, places a mortgage on it at current interest rates, and 
starts out to make a living, to pay interest charges on the high valua- 
tion, and, in addition, to pay off the mortgage. 

Land rental, or interest on the investment in land, is not usually 
considered an item of expense in the production of farm products, but 
such a charge is fully justified. If capital can be withdrawn from agri- 
culture and yield 6 per cent in other industries, then the business of 
farming must be debited with interest on the investment, as well as the 
wages paid to labor, in the determination of net profit. On high priced 
land interest becomes an important item of expense as compared with 
conditions of relatively low land values. It is not beyond the range of 
possibiUty in new wheat regions for two good wheat crops to pay costs 
of production and pay for the land, but, even with equal fertility, on 
relatively high-priced land the situation is materially changed because 
the costs of production are much higher. The cost of producing wheat 
in S. E. Minn, is $9.86 per acre; in S. W. Minn., $8.38, and in N. W. 
Minn., $6.97, the chief difference in cost being accounted for by differ- 
ences in land rental or in the interest on the investment. Reference 
should be made to the Table given herewith in which it may be seen that 
the cost of producing wheat is 66.9 per cent higher on land valued at 
$100 than on land valued at $20. Increases in the cost of producing 
field crops, due to changes in land value, fall heaviest on those crops that 
reqxiire only a relatively small apphcation of capital and labor in their 
production. The increase of cost is greater for crops hke wheat and 
clover that require but a small amount of capital and labor in their 
production than for crops like potatoes, mangels, or ensilage which 
require a relatively large amount. For example, it may be seen in this 
table that the cost of producing wheat on $20 land is $7.18 and on $100 
land $11.98, an increase of $4.80, or 66.9 per cent. The cost of produc- 
ing potatoes on $20 land is $24.55 and on $100 land $29.36, an increase 
of $4.80 or 19.5 per cent. The cost of producing corn ensilage on $20 
land is $17.59 and on $100 land $22.39, an increase of $4.80, or 27.3 
per cent. 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 



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92 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

The premises concerning the causes of increase in land value and the 
effect of "interest on investment" in the cost of production have a 
practical apphcation in the study of farm management. Systems of 
crop rotation and farm organization must be chosen and efficiently 
followed which will yield an income larger than the cost. When land 
rental or interest on investment is considered as an item of expense, other 
items of cost remaining the same, the net product per acre must also 
increase, to yield equal rates of profit. That many locaUties exist in 
which "net proceeds" and land values are not proportionate must be 
conceded by all students of agriculture. The chief reason for this 
situation, wheresoever found, is that the system of farming and the 
crops grown by that system are not adapted to the economic environ- 
ment of the farm. Such conditions are nearly impossible in industries 
other than agriculture, but the independent farmer has his living and his 
home whether he manages his land to secure the highest possible profits 
or not, and so systems of farming which, because of changed economic 
conditions, are antiquated persist for many years in spite of the progress 
which appreciates the value of land. 

To illustrate the fact that certain crops and systems of farming are 
adapted to profitable management only under certain economic condi- 
tions, some conclusions may be drawn from the precedingTable relative 
to the cost of producing wheat, corn, and potatoes. Fifteen bushels of 
wheat per acre on $20 land at an average farm price of 66 cents per bushel 
will return a net profit of 13.6 per c6nt on the investment (i.e., on the 
value of the land), "net profit" being over and above the "land rental," 
which is counted as an item in the cost. The same crop on $50 land 
gives a net profit of 1.84 per cent, and on $100 land a net loss of 2 per 
cent. In order to secure equal rates of profit from the $50 land and the 
$100 land with this crop, price being the same, a yield of 23.9 bushels 
is necessary on the $50 land and 3S.S bushels on the $100 land. It may 
thus be seen that wheat is not adapted to profitable culture on high 
priced land— in fact, it is absolutely impossible to grow it and secure 
the same rate of profit as can be secured on the cheaper lands, less favor- 
ably located, but equal to or excelling the high-priced land in produc- 
tiveness for wheat. Average spring wheat yields of 24 or 39 bushels 
can not be secured, and wheat grown on $50 to $100 land can not 
compete with wheat on $20 land. 

Corn responds better to costly tillage, thrives better on old soils, and 
in regions favorable to its growth has greater possibilities for returning 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 93 

a fair profit on high-priced land than wheat. Fifty bushels of corn per 
acre on $50 land at an average farm price of 32 cents per bushel will give 
a net profit of 11.52 per cent. The same crop on $100 land gives a net 
profit of 2.76 per cent, and on $150 land a net loss of 0.15 per cent. In 
order to secure equal rates of profit from the $100 land and the $150 
land with the corn crop (price being the same) a yield of 77.47 bushels is 
necessary on the $100 land and 104.7 bushels on the $150 land. These 
figures indicate that the corn crop has greater possibihties for profit 
making on land valued above $50 per acre than wheat. Yields of 75 to 
100 bushels of corn per acre are not impossible in Southern Minnesota, 
with good management; this will pay cost of production and give a 
reasonable profit on the high-priced land. The value of the corn crop 
can also be enhanced by feeding to cattle and hogs, and profits thus 
increased; and as the manure produced will tend to maintain the yields 
of corn at a high level this increased profit will also thus again be en- 
hanced. Wheat can not be fed profitably under ordinary conditions 
except at prices below 50 cents per bushel. One hundred bushels of 
com per acre is a very high yield for our average farm lands, even in 
Iowa and Illinois. Thus at present prices this crop under the system of 
farming associated with it ceases to be profitable when land values 
approximate $150 per acre. 

Potatoes illustrate a third type of staple crop that has greater possi- 
bilities through intensive culture on high-priced land than corn or wheat. 
One himdred bushels of potatoes per acre at 39 cents on the farm will 
give a net profit of 25.3 per cent on $50 land. The same crop on $100 
land gives a net profit of 9.6 per cent, on $150 land a net profit of 4.4 per 
cent, and on $200 land a net profit of 1.8 per cent. To secure the same 
rate of profit as was obtained on the $100 land with a 100 bushel crop 
(9.6 per cent) the yield per acre must be 119.9 bushels on land valued 
at $150 and 139.9 bushels on the $200 land. Such yields are possible 
with fair cultivation. The potato crop, then, is adapted to intensive 
culture on high-priced land, and large applications of capital and labor 
are justified by the additional returns — a condition that is not true with 
the wheat and small grain crops. 

As land values increase beyond $200 to $300 per acre the potato crop 
becomes relatively unprofitable as compared with the onion crop and 
other garden crops requiring large amounts of labor per acre in their 
production. Onions, for example, under good cultivation, will yield 
600 to 1000 bushels per acre, giving a gross income ranging from $200 to 



94 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

$400 per acre. Strawberries, small fruits, and orchard crops are also 
illustrative of crops adapted to soils so located as to have a value of $400 
per acre or higher. The value of land is thus seen to be a most impor- 
tant factor which governs the determination of the most profitable 
system of agriculture. The crops and the systems of farming must be 
in accord with land values, or financial loss is the result. Wheat, 
because of its low acre cost of production and its ease of storage and 
transportation, is adapted to culture only on relatively low-priced lands. 
The cost of producing this crop mounts up so rapidly on high-priced 
land as to make profits impossible; for the crop does not lend itself to 
intensive culture, and a high apphcation of labor and capital in produc- 
tion can not be recovered in increased yields. When wheat is grown on 
land valued at $100 per acre the net product must be approximately five 
times as great as on land valued at $20 per acre in order to yield the 
same rate of profit and it is impossible to raise the yield to that point. 
Waste and loss are, therefore, the results of growing wheat on high- 
priced land, for 5 acres of $20 land will produce a much greater net 
product of wheat than 1 acre of $100 land. Similar illustrations might 
be given with other crops, such as corn, potatoes, and onions, but enough 
has been given to show that the most successful farm managenent 
demands that a system of cropping and field management be followed 
which is in accord with the land values. When land values are relative- 
ly low, a system of farming which raises crops capable of extensive cul- 
tivation at low cost of production per acre is usually more profitable 
than one producing crops of a high cost of production, and when land 
values are high the intensively cultivated crops are the most 
profitable. 

Wheat farming must, of course, give some consideration to problems 
of soil fertility, so that the production of clovers and the raising of live 
stock are advisable. Where grain is to be the chief crop of the farm, a 
large area of grass pastured and fed to tliose classes of live stock demand- 
ing a low cost for labor in their keep is the solution of the fertility 
problem, and the markets and economic environment of such a farm 
rarely justify dairying and intensely cultivated crops, such as ensilage. 
Likewise, in corn and potato farming on high-priced land, live stock is 
essential to good farm management and to the maintenance of profitable 
yields. Cattle and hog feeding are well adapted for combination with 
the com crop, and dairying with conditions which make potatoes 
profitable. 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 95 

Good farm management demands the application of the principles 
outhned in this discussion — principles which, if ignored, result in "no- 
profit" farming. Those conditions and factors which determine the 
value of land give a different environment to all grades of land, and 
the system of cropping and farm management, to be profitable, must 
recognize the environment. 

Note: Five years after this bulletin was published (1909) the 
costs of producing farm crops had increased about 20% due to an 
increase in the costs of farm labor and feeds, as well as an increase in 
the rental value of land. Prices of agricultural staples also rose 
greatly. The author has made no attempt to revise to date the sta- 
tistics used in this discussion, because the statistics are useful merely 
for the proof of the general argument. The general statements made 
in this bulletin on this subject will be as true in 1930 or 1950 as they 
were in 1909. Students, if they wish, may make a local problem out 
of this feature of farm management, by following the methods of 
comparison abo.ve used and substituting local crops, crop prices, and 
land values. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) Why is a succession of wheat, miUet and oats not a real rotation 

of crops? Compare such a succession of crops with a succession 
of corn, oats and clover. Note carefully all the differences. 

(2) What is the average cost of producing an acre of corn, wheat, oats, 

potatoes, and meadow crops in your locahty? (Get sugges- 
tions about cost items from page 491 of this book, and then use 
local wage rates and local prices for seed, etc.) 

(3) What is the marketing cost per acre in your locality for a com 

crop yielding 50 bu. per acre; wheat 20 bu. per acre; oats 40 bu. 
per acre; potatoes 125 bu. per acre; and a timothy and clover 
crop yielding 3 tons per acre? Estimate the marketing costs 
per acre if the corn, oats, and hay crops were fed to dairy cows, 
fat cattle, swine or sheep. Compute these costs on the basis 
of local haul to the elevator or shipping point, and also the rail- 
way freight and commission charges for delivery in the ter- 
minal market that fixes the local price. See reference books 
on feeding farm animals. 

(4) With land of equal value estimate the approximate amount of 

fixed and working capital necessary to the management of a 160 
acre grain farm, corn farm, cotton farm, hay farm, mixed grain 
and stock farm, dairy farm, and sheep farm. Use local data 
and conditions so far as possible. 



96 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

(5) What is the approximate loss of plant food on a wheat or com 

farm? What is the loss of plant food on a cotton farm where 
the lint and seed ai'e both sold? What loss is there when the 
lint is sold and the cotton seed fed to live stock? What does 
the loss of plant food amount to on a stock farm where aU crop 
products are fed to the hve stock? Compute these losses in 
percentage amounts of the amount of plant food removed from 
the soil by any desired combination of crops. See pages 296, 459. 

(6) Prepare a man and horse labor calendar for a 160 acre farm grow- 

ing 140 acres of small grain and 10 acres of pasture annually; 
140 acres of corn and 10 acres of pasture annually; 140 acres of 
potatoes and 10 acres of pasture annually; 140 acres of hay and 
10 acres of pasture annually; and a farm growing 60 acres of 
small grain, 30 acres of corn, 30 acres- of meadow, and 30 acres 
of pasture annually. Estimate by months the number of men 
and horses necessary to properly care for the crops. Study 
your estimates from the viewpoint of present day farm labor 
conditions. 

(7) Why is exclusive grain growing commonly practiced in new agri- 

cultural regions? Why does mixed farming usually supersede 
exclusive grain growing? What has the value of land to do 
with this change? 

(8) What is the percentage of unavoidable crop waste with peas or 

potatoes on farms where there is no live stock to consume these 
waste products? (Get estimates from experienced local 
farmers.) 

(9) If a storm just prior to harvest lodges small grain beyond hope of 

harvesting, would it pay to borrow money with which to pur- 
chase live stock to recover some value in the crop? What kind 
of live stock would you regard as most profitable for this pur- 
pose? 
(10) How many pounds of gain can be secured from a bushel of corn 
when fed to hogs 5 months old? Hogs 6 months old? Hogs 
8 months old? Hogs 10 months old? Hogs 12 months old? 
Hogs 16 months old? Using your local prices for corn and the 
live weight of hogs, compute the possibilities for enhancing the 
selling value of the corn by feeding to hogs of the ages above 
mentioned. Make similar computations for cattle, one, two 
and three years of age. (Secure information from Experiment 



ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATION 



97 



Station feeding investigations and from local, experienced 
stock feeders.) 
(11) If alfalfa hay is worth $7.00 per ton in the stack what price will 
the hay bring if fed to two or three year old steers worth 7 cents 
per pound hve weight? What price, if fed to good yearling 
wethers worth 6 cents per pound live weight? Using your 
local prices for alfalfa, clover, or pea hay, and for the live weight 
of cattle and sheep, compute the possibilities for enhancing the 
selling value of the hay by feeding. (Secure information from 
Experiment Station feeding investigations and from local, 
experienced stock feeders.) 




Photo by courtesy Soo Line. 

Beef cattle pasturing on cut-over timber land in Northern Michigan. After 
the land is brushed it is easy to secure a good pasture of tame grasses and clovers 
from which an income can be secured while the stumps and brush roots are de- 
caying. In these days of high prices for grass fed cattle the opening of a farm 
in the timber regions is comparatively easy. 



CHAPTER V 

FIELD MANAGEMENT TO ESTABLISH CROP 
ROTATION 

Systematic rotation of crops is a term commonly used 
to mean a system of crop rotation wherein the pasture and 
meadow lands, as well as the grain and cultivated crops, 
are periodically planted on all the farm fields, and where 
the crops follow each other in a definite system on fields 
planned to meet the requirements of the rotation plan. 
Where mixed grain and live stock farming is practiced, as 
is the case on a large part of the prairie land areas of the 
United States, and where all areas of the farm can be made 
capable of cultivation, a scheme of cropping that includes 
rotation pastures and meadows is usually preferable to 
one that includes permanent pastures or meadows, because 
the productivity of the entire farm is more easily kept at a 
high level with the minimum of cost. 

There are many farms in the United States, however, 
that cannot be planned in such a manner as to include 
rotation pastures. Winding creeks, stony ridges, abrupt 
hillsides, and bottom lands incapable of drainage, make the 
permanent pasture a necessity on some farms. In some 
agricultural regions of the United States, and with certain 
systems of live stock farming, the permanent pasture is 
preferred to the rotation pasture. On still other farms where 
very intensive dairy farming is practiced, pasture lands are 
never used, but green summer feed is provided by means 
of soiling and ensilage crops. 

Under the conditions above noted, the so called "sys- 
tematic rotation of crops," including rotation pastures, 



ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 99 

cannot be practiced as shown in Diagram VII of this chap- 
ter. Crop rotation plans, however, that will alternate the 
grain, grass, and cultivated crops on the land and secure the 
benefits to be gained by crop rotation, can be made for farms 
that have conditions preventing the use of rotation pas- 
tures. Rotation plans that will meet all these conditions 
are shown and explained in detail in Part II, Chapter VI. 

The diagrams, reorganization plans, and explanatory 
notes of this chapter pertain to general matters relative 
to field management intended to secure systematic rotation 
of crops under conditions favorable to use the rotation 
pasture. The plans of this chapter, given to illustrate 
methods applicable to an old farm, should be regarded 
merely as pertaining to a particular problem from which 
the reader may gather ideas about farm reorganization 
that will assist him to develop cropping plans for any farm. 

Drainage and Land Clearing Essential to Systematic 
Crop Rotation. Systematic crop rotation cannot be put 
in operation on the entire area of any farm having lands 
subject to an excess of standing water at certain seasons 
of the year or having undeveloped wild sod land or uncleared 
timber lands. All areas within the farm boundaries must 
first be made capable of cultivation. For example, if a 
farm contains one field that is too wet for corn and the small 
grains, but will produce redtop and alsike hay, the inevitable 
result is that the field too wet for corn and the small grains 
becomes a permanent meadow or pasture, and that the 
other fields grow cultivated and grain crops continuously 
and lose the benefits of the grass or humus producing crops. 

Some rotation can, of course, be practiced even under 
these conditions, but unless large quantities of barnyard 
manure are available, and unless green manure crops are 
used, the productivity of the entire farm cannot be made 



100 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

SO great as when all the fields are periodically occupied by 
the humus producing crops, the cultivated crops, and the 
grain crops. Drainage and land clearing work must pre- 
cede the planning and inauguration of systematic crop 
rotation that will benefit all the fields of the farm, and 
permit systematic field management. 




Photo by courtesy "The Farmer ." 
A ditch opened for tile drain. Wet land on a farm is usually a hindrance to 
the total farm revenue'possible, even though the land is good meadow and pasture. 
When one portion of the farm grows grass continuously, the tendency is to plant 
grain and cultivated crops continuously on the balance of the farm, and this ia 
eventually injurious to soil productivity. 

Division of Fields. In order to make a crop rotation 
plan systematic and capable of producing approximately 
the same amounts of grain crop products, grass crop prod- 
ucts, and cultivated crop products annually, (this being 
essential in giving permanency and stability to the farm 
business, especially where live stock is one of the farm 
enterprises), it is necessary that the total area of land on 
the farm shall be divided into three, four, five or more 
fields of approximately equal size. The number of fields will 



ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 



101 



of course depend on the length of the rotation, that is to 
say, the number of years required to make a complete 
cycle of the crops to be grown. 

Let us take a very simple rotation as an example and 
explain it by means of a diagram. Suppose a rotation of 
wheat (grain crop), clover (grass crop), and corn (cultivated 
crop) has been planned. Such a rotation would occupy 
three years in completing its cycle and would require that 
the total farm area be divided into three areas of equal size. 
Supposfe this farm contains one hundred and twenty acres 
of land, it would then be divided into three fields containing 
forty acres each, and the crops would be rotated over these 
fields as shown in Diagram I. For the sake of simplicity 
no attempt is made in this diagram to show the farmstead 
and lanes. This diagram is intended to illustrate the 
methods of systematic crop rotation and nothing more. 

Diagram I, A Simple Three-Year Rotation. 



Year 1 

Year 2 

Year 3 


(1) 

1. 

2. 
3. 


40 Acres.. 

Wheat 
Clover 
Corn 


(2) 
1. 

2. 
3. 


40 Acres. 

Clover 

Corn 

Wheat 


(3) 

1. 

2. 
3. 


40 Acres. 

Corn 

Wheat 
Clover 


Year 4 


4. 


Wheat 


4. 


Clover 


4. 


Corn 



Note: This rotation plan could not be put into effect imme- 
diately on any farm. One or two years of preparation v?ould be neces- 
sary during which the field areas could be determined, fencing done if 
necessary for live stock, and a crop of clover seeded on one of the 
fields. 

As soon as this preliminary work is completed the crops are grown 
in a regular, systematic succession of wheat, clover and corn on each 
field, and then when the cycle of three years is completed, wheat is 
again planted after the corn crop. 

Each year by this plan the farm produces forty acres of wheat, 
forty acres of clover hay, and forty acres of corn. The fixed order of 
crop succession is necessary in order to have each crop grown follow 
that crop that will leave tlae soil in a desirable physical and chemical 
condition for the crop in question, and also that the same amounts 



102 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



of wheat, clover and corn may be produced on the farm each year, 
and thus not distui'b the permanency of the live stock enterprises of 
the farm business. 

Further study of Diagram I will show how exactly this simple 
rotation follows the best principles of soil tillage and crop production. 
Red clover is known to succeed best in a compacted seed bed, free 
from weeds, and protected during its early stages of growth by a nurse 
crop. Clover is, therefore, seeded with the wheat and after the wheat 
harvest the clover gains full possession of the soil and in the succeed- 
ing year produces a heavy growth of forage. Thus no time is wasted 
in starting the clover crop, and the clover receives the most favor- 
able place in the rotation for clover. 

In the autumn of the second year of the rotation the clover sod 
is plowed under and, during the succeeding winter, time is given to 
decay the organic matter and crumble the soil before seeding another 
crop. If manure is available on the farm, it is spread, during the winter 
and early spring, on top of this plowed clover sod, and disked in, to 
prepare the land for the corn crop. 

In the spring of the third year this manured clover sod is disked 
and harrowed smooth preparatory to corn planting. An exceedingly 
good seed bed is thus provided for corn. We have previously seen 
that corn is a gross feeding crop and capable of thriving well on land 
containing organic matter and raw manure. In consideration of these 
facts, corn is planted, following the clover sod, and is given a very 
favorable place in the rotation to yield its maximum product. 

In the spring of the fourth year the old corn land is disked and 
harrowed, wheat is seeded with the added mixture of clover seed, 
and the three year cycle of crops is again started. Wheat, as pre- 
viously stated, is a delicate feeding crop that must have large amounts 
of fertility easily available to produce maximum yields. No more 
ideal place for a wheat crop could be provided than following a corn 
crop grown on manured clover sod. The disked seed bed would be 
compact, able to supply moisture, and filled with decaying manure 
and clover roots that would supply available fertility. Clover also 
is known to start more quickly and to thrive better on soils rich in 
nitrogen, so that the clover crop has been considered in that it is given 
a place in the rotation where it may use the available nitrogen from ma- 
nure and the decaying roots of a previous clover crop. 

In this rotation it should be noted that the land is plowed only 
once in three years, and yet the crops are so arranged that a desirable 
physical condition in the soil is always maintained. On very weedy 
land it might be found necessary to plow twice in three years to keep 
weeds in check, for disking does not d.estroy weeds as thoroughly as 
plowing. In that event the corn land would be fall plowed in prep- 
aration for wheat, and the clover sod fall plowed in preparation for 
corn. 

It may be seen also, from this diagram, how a rotation of thia 
nature simphfies and systematizes the field work of the farm, dis- 
tributing the labor through the various seasons and giving system and 



ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 103 

permanency to the farm business. Apply any or all tests of the scien- 
tific principles of soil tillage, crop production, and farm management, 
to this rotation, and the plan of cropping is not found wanting in merit. 

The rotation given in Diagram I is very simple, but it is 
fundamental and basic in principle. Any student who mas- 
ters the principles involved in this simple plan can apply 
them to problems of field management and crop production 
of a much more complex nature. A great variety of crops 
exist that can be grown to advantage in the Temperate Zone, 
and they can be arranged in a countless variety of rotations, 
covering a cycle of years anywhere from three to ten years, 
meeting the demands for big farms, small farms, grain farms, 
dairy farms, or other types of farming, and still preserving 
the principles of crop rotation. 

The Reorganization of Old Farms to Establish Systematic 
Crop Rotation. It usually requires several years and careful 
advance planning to reorganize an old farm, and to arrange 
the fields in such a manner as to make possible a definite, 
systematic rotation of crops and the most efficient use of 
labor and machinery in crop production. It would be a 
comparatively easy matter on a tract of wild, smooth prairie 
land, to gradually make a systematic arrangement of the 
fields, buildings and lanes ; but the necessity for crop rotation 
is never realized when prairie land is broken and put into 
cultivation. The problems of subduing the land, the real- 
izing of quick profits, and the establishing of a home, take 
precedence over plans for the systematic planning of farms 
for the future needs of the business. 

The pioneer farmers of the United States have never been 
systematic in their methods of farm management. Wild 
land has been broken or cleared a little at a time without any 
thought of systematic planning for the future. As a result, 
the great majority of our American farms have developed in 



104 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

a haphazard, unsystematic manner. Buildings, lanes, and 
field divisions, have been often laid out without any definite 
plan of arrangement or thought for the economies of farm 
management. 

Methods and arrangements that prevailed in pioneer 
days have been often allowed to stand on account of the 
inertia in regard to tearing down the old and building anew. 
Fences, lanes, pastures, and farmstead arrangements that 
served the purpose of the pioneer, are often hindrances to 
systematic crop rotation and field management. Many a 
farm in the North Central States has a permanent pasture 
of native grass that is comparatively unproductive, irreg- 
ularly shaped fields that cause loss of time in handling labor 
and machinery, and small areas that are unproductive, be- 
cause they need tile drainage. These conditions are often 
found in regionswherelandisworth$75.00to $200.00 per acre. 

These are the conditions of agriculture in the United 
States under which systematic crop rotation and field man- 
agement must usually be established. In the development of 
such virgin land as still remains in the United States we may 
expect to see a repetition of the usual pioneer methods 
that clear and subdue the land, crop it unsystematically, 
and rapidly exhaust the soil's store of available plant food. 
The farms are then left badly planned for the succeeding 
generation of farmers who realize the need and the advan- 
tage of a systematic scheme of crop production, and who 
are desirous of planning their tracts of land so that sys- 
tematic crop rotation and field management can be practiced. 

When land becomes high in value and when the wasteful 
methods of pioneer agriculture have exhausted much of the 
available fertility in soils, the necessity for systematic 
crop rotation and field management becomes imperative, 
if land is to return a fair profit on its market valuation. The 



ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 105 

modern high land values, scarcity of competent farm labor, 
and the growing use of power machines for accomplishing 
farm work, all demand greater system in field management 
than was necessary in the early days of American agriculture. 
Losses in the handling of labor and machinery on irregular, 
poorly planned fields, losses from anproductive pasture lands, 
losses in crop values from unproductive fields resulting from 
long continued continuous cropping to small grains, corn or 
cotton, and losses resulting from investment values in un- 
drained or uncleared lands, on which there are taxes and, 
possibly interest, must be checked by means of systematic 
crop rotation and field management if the business of agri- 
culture is made to pay even the current rate of interest on 
th'e investment. 

Systematic field arrangement is as essential a part of the 
business of farming as the arrangement of buildings and the 
distribution of power in a manufacturing establishment. 
When a modern factory is built, every possible consideration 
is given to the location of the buildings and the various 
divisions or departments and to the transmission of power 
through the factory, in order to effect all possible economies 
in time and power. Many an old manufacturing establish- 
ment is forced into bankruptcy by the competition of its 
more modern competitors that have a lower cost of pro- 
duction due to a more systematic arrangement of the divi- 
sions of manufacturing and transmission of power. Many 
an old farm in the United States, also, that has badly 
planned fields, unproductive pastures, waste lands, and run 
down soil, would go into bankruptcy, were it not for the 
fact that the farm gives the proprietor his board and lodging, 
and that the farm was homesteaded or bought in an era of 
low land values, and has no actual burden of carrying charges 
based on its present market value. But, even so, the farmer 



106 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

who is operating under these circumstances is actually 
managing a losing business. If the farm, by reason of these 
conditions previously mentioned, is not paying a net profit 
of at least 6% on its present market value, the proprietor 
would find it more profitable to sell his business and invest 
his capital in reliable securities that will yield a dividend 
of at least 6%. 

These methods of field management necessary to effect all 
possible economies in the handling of labor, power and ma- 
chinery, -and to realize maximum products from the soil, 
become apparent and essential to the generation of farmers 
that purchase or lease high priced land and have an actual 
burden of carrying charges on high priced land to figure into 
their accounts. To these men the economies and benefits 
of systematic crop rotation and field management offer the 
readiest and most practical methods for increasing the pro- 
ductivity of their farm lands, and developing a profitable 
system of agriculture in these days of high land values. 

The reorganization of an old farm to insure systematic 
crop rotation and field management is a matter of farm 
finance to be carefully considered before the work of reorgan- 
ization is begun. An outlay of capital is as necessary to this 
work as to the reorganization work of a railroad which con- 
templates the reducing of grades, the straightening of curves, 
the laying of heavy steel rails, and the graveling of the road- 
bed. The railroad manager knows that a wise expenditure 
of capital in such jvork will eventually increase the efficiency 
of the railroad and make possible lower operation costs and 
greater net profits. Similarly, in the case of farm reorgani- 
zation, the outlay of capital is justifiable and productive of 
greater net profits, if the result will effect economies in farm 
management and increase the producing capacity of the farm 
fields. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 107 

In most cases of farm reorganization to establish syste- 
matic crop rotation and field management, it is possible to 
plan the work so as not to interrupt the regular business of 
the farm, and to pay the costs from the proceeds of the busi- 
ness. Wherever reorganization work can be financed in 
this m,anner, it is, of course, preferable to financing the work 
with borrowed capital, on account of the saving of interest. 

On the other hand, there are certain conditions relative 
to farm reorganization where it is highly advisable to use 
borrowed capital to facilitate the work, and where the cost 
of interest on the loan is insignificant compared to the 
gains that may be secured through the use of ready money. 
An example of a situation of this nature in farm finance is 
where a portion of the land needs tile drainage. If a farm 
with forty acres of land needing tile drainage is producing 
less pasture than a field of similar size growing red clover 
and timothy or alsike clover and timothy, and if crop rota- 
tion is not being practiced on the balance of the land on 
account of this permanent pasture, such a field causes a 
loss in farm income that is greater than the interest charge 
on the capital necessary to drain the land and make it pro- 
ductive plow land. Wherevei a condition of this sort 
exists, the use of borrowed capital is justified; for the re- 
turns from the use of such capital will exceed the interest 
charges several times. 

If this land can be drained, for example, for $500.00, 
the first year's crop of flax or corn would pay for the cost 
of drainage. A loan of $500.00 to accomplish this work 
would cost but $30.00 per year at 6% interest, and $40.00 
per year at 8% interest. It can readily be seen that in a 
case of this sort the interest charge of $30.00 to $40.00 an- 
nually is a small item as compared to the annual loss in- 
curred by reason of the comparatively unproductive land. 



108 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Moreover, when a comparatively unproductive field of 
this kind is drained and put into a system of crop rotation, 
the chances are that the yield of all crops on the farm will 
be increased. Tame grass pastures will yield more feed than 
wet pastures, and the grain and cultivated crops will yield 
more, because they are in rotation with grasses and clovers. 

No matter whether the farmer has capital resources of 
his own with which to reorganize an old farm or whether 
he borrows capital for this purpose, it usually requires con- 
siderable time to establish systematic crop rotation and 
field management. Time is necessary to change old fence 
lines and seed down land to tame grasses, as well as to 
accomplish drainage or land clearing. In planning the 
reorganization of an old farm, therefore, the plans should 
be so made as to distribute the work through several seasons 
and to accomplish the desired results with as little inter- 
ference as possible with the regular work of the farm. By 
careful planning it is possible, usually, to accomplish most 
of the work with the regularly employed labor of the farm, 
and thus keep down the cost of labor to a minimum. Of 
course such work as drainage or land clearing requires 
extra labor, but the changing of fence lines and lanes, and 
the straightening of field lines can all be worked in at odd 
times with the regular farm help. 

If drainage or land clearing work is to be done, it should 
be planned to distribute this work through as many seasons 
as are necessary to reorganize the balance of the fields on 
the farm. Thus, by the time the land is drained or cleared, 
the balance of the land has been systematically arranged, 
and, when drainage or clearing is completed, the whole farm 
area is ready to combine in a systematic scheme of cropping. 

In Diagrams II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII, there is pre- 
sented a series of plans showing how an old farm can be re- 



ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 109 

organized and placed under a systematic scheme of cropping. 
This old farm chosen as an example of a badly arranged 
farm needing field reorganization, is located in Southern 
Minnesota, in a region where good varieties of corn mature, 
and where land values range from $75.00 to $100.00 per acre. 
The owner of this farm values his land at $90.00 per acre. 
About sixty acres of this farm are in permanent white clover 
and blue grass pasture that* is first class pasture land, but 
too wet in the spring to plow unless tile drained. This 
pasture land is easy to tile drain and could all be put 
under the plow for a cost that would not exceed $600.00. 
The farm was homesteaded about forty years ago and has 
been cropped principally to small grains. 

No attempt has ever been made to practice crop rotation, 
and very few grass crops have been grown on the plow land. 
During recent years the crop yields have averaged as follows : 
corn, forty to forty-five bushels per acre; oats, forty to fifty 
bushels per acre; barley, thirty to thirty-five bushels per 
acre; wheat, twelve to sixteen bushels per acre; and timothy 
hay about two tons per acre. The system of farming has 
been grain growing almost exclusively with not much at- 
tention given to live stock. Under the present system of 
farming the farm does not pay a good profit over and above 
the labor, seed, depreciation charges and taxes. The farm 
needs crop rotation and the use of live stock to raise the 
productivity of the old grain fields, and better arranged fields 
to effect economies in the handling of labor and machinery. 

A discussion of the methods and plans for the reor- 
ganization of this farm in a practical manner that will not 
interfere with the regular farm work, and in such a manner 
that the work, with the possible exception of the tile drain- 
age, can be accomplished from the annual proceeds of the busi- 
ness, is given in detail in notes accompanying each diagram. 



110 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 




r 



ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 111 



DIAGRAM II 

Note: This diagram shows the present unsystematic and 
irregular arrangement of the fields, and the manner in which the per- 
manent pasture cuts into the plow land and prevents a systematic 
scheme of cropping. 

The buildings and farmstead are also badly located in relation to 
the fields, thus causing losses in field work in the management of labor 
and machinery. The buildings and farmstead improvements repre- 
sent an investment of about $4,000.00, and, as it would disrupt busi- 
ness to some extent and also cause an additional financial burden on 
the work of reorganization to change their location, the reorganization 
plans will be worked out with the buildings and yards in their present 
situation. If a change were practical, a more desirable location, from 
the viewpoint of field management, would be on the other mainly 
traveled road, midway between the boundaries of the farm. 

It may also be noted from this diagram that there are approxi- 
mately 1,100 rods of old internal fencing on the farm, much of which 
is of little use under the scheme of cropping and field management 
now followed. By reference to Diagram VII, where the same farm is 
shown completely reorganized, it may be seen that about 1,020 rods 
of internal fencing are necessary to completely fence all fields of the 
farm, thus making every field available for regular pasture, as well 
as meadow aftermath, stubble, or catch crop pasture. In the diagrams 
of this farm the fences are represented by solid Hues. 

It is hardly necessary to point out the unsystematic arrangement 
of these fields and the inevitable waste of time that takes place in 
the management of labor and machinery on fields laid out as these are. 
The lack of system is apparent from a mere glance at the diagram. 
As the fields are now laid out, systematic crop rotation is impossible; 
many of the fields are difficult to reach from the buildings; and several 
fields are of such irregular shape as to hinder the use of machinery to 
the best advantage. That three meadows are at three different places 
on the farm is also a hindrance to rapid, systematic methods of han- 
dling the hay crop. 

DIAGRAM III 

Note: In this first year of reorganization the work of straight- 
ening out the fields is started with the idea of gradually changing the 
arrangement of the farm fields to correspond with the completed plan 
shown in Diagram VII. In other words, the reorganization plans 
must lead up to the completed plan in as practical a manner as is 
possible, and with as little interruption as possible to the regular farm 
work. The completed plan, as shown in Diagram VII, is first made, and 
the reorganization plans are then made to gradually lead up to this 
ideal plan. 

This year the old timothy meadows are left undisturbed to produce 
hay until other land can be seeded to grass. The httle three-acre 
meadow adjoining the farmstead has been broken up in order to straight- 



112 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 




w.o 



r 



ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 113 



en out a large field for wheat, also a small part of the largest piece 
of meadow land is broken up for potatoes in order to straighten out 
the fields for succeeding years. 

The old lane fencing, from the farmstead to the corn field, on the 
original plan, has been torn down, also the old fence along the corn field. 
This old fencing is useless and in the way of the completed plan, and 
is, therefore, torn out to make way for the large, regularly shaped 
fields of wheat and corn. 

The work of tile draining the old permanent pasture is started 
this year. If finances permit, the entire field can be drained this 
year. If not, part of the work can be done this year, and part next. 
While this work of tile draining is going on, the old pasture fence is 
left intact and the land used as before for pasture. 

A mixture of red clover and timothy, or alsike clover and timo- 
thy, is seeded with the wheat crop in order to start new and productive 
meadow land, and permit the old, sodbound timothy land to be broken 
up the succeeding year. 

After the oats and barley are harvested and stacked this year, 
these fields are thoroughly disked and a green manure crop of vetches, 
black soy beans, field peas or buckwheat sown. Another and simpler 
method for getting a green manure crop on these fields would be to 
sow mammoth clover with the grain in the spring and allow it to grow 
undisturbed after grain harvest. Late in the autumn the green manure 
crops are plowed under to enrich the soil and increase the productivity 
of the land until such time as the farm can all be placed under a sys- 
tematic scheme of crop rotation. 

The ten acre timothy field is broken up this autumn in prepara- 
tion for corn. A portion of the seventeen acre timothy field is also 
broken in preparation for wheat, and that portion of this timothy 
field adjoining the new grass seeding is left unplowed in order to make 
a large, sohd field of grass the succeeding year. 

DIAGRAM IV 

Note: This year the drainage work must be completed, un- 
less it was finished the previous year. No old fencing needs to be torn 
down this year, or new fencing set, as the old pasture is still in use. 

The corn land of the previous year, together with that portion 
of the old timothy sod that was broken, is disked in the spring of the 
year and seeded to wheat. Red clover and timothy, or alsike clover 
and timothy, are seeded with the wheat. 

Meadow land is provided this year from the seeding of grass 
made with wheat the previous year. 

Corn is planted this year on the ten-acre timothy sod land, the 
green manured barley land, and the potato land of the previous year. 

The green manured oat land of the previous year is again seeded 
to oats this year. 

This season an increase in the amount of live stock on the farm 
would be desirable on account of the large amount of corn produced 



114 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 























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ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 115 



the previous year and also on account of the increase in the amount 
of hay produced as compared to previous years. 

In the autumn of this season a new fence would be set between 
the meadow land and the new seeding of grass made with the wheat. 
The meadow aftermath could then be used in the autumn for pasture. 

As soon as this new fence is set, and the stock turned in, all of 
the old pasture fence is torn up as soon as possible to permit of break- 
ing the old pasture land. The old fence along the line between the 
wheat and corn fields is left standing. 

The oats stubble land is fall plowed, and if time permits the corn 
land should also be fall plowed, thus cleaning up all the plow land of 
the farm in nice shape. If time will not permit all this plowing to be 
done in the autumn, the breaking can be done, and the stubble plow- 
ing held over till the succeeding spring. 

DIAGRAM V 

Note: This year the newly fenced grass land is used for pas- 
ture and the grass seeding of the previous year is used for meadow. 

The crops can be arranged on the balance of the land this year 
to suit the requirements of the farm as regards live stock, or in almost 
any manner that the farm manager desires, providing one field is set 
aside to seed down to clover and timothy with either wheat, oats or 
barley. If the farm is now carrying considerable Uve stock, a large 
acreage of corn can be planted, if desired, on the rich old pasture land. 
Or, if desired, wheat can be eliminated from the list of crops this year; 
the grass seeding done with oats or barley; a large acreage of flax sown 
on the old pasture; and about the same acreage of corn planted as 
in previous years. 

The plan shown in this diagram includes wheat for the nurse 
crop, a field of flax on the breaking, a field of corn partly on breaking 
and partly on stubble ground, and two fields of oats sown partly on 
stubble and partly on breaking. 

In the autumn of this year the fence between the meadow and the 
new seeding of grass is completed in order that the meadow can be 
used for pasture the succeeding year. Some fencing work is also 
done in the autumn of this year to lay out the new yards and minor 
rotation fields for live stock, that are shown on Diagrams VI and VII. 
This work can be done in the spring of the next year, but it would 
ease up the spring work a great deal, if part of this fencing work were 
done this year in the autumn months. 

Considerable plowing is necessary in the autumn of this year. 
The pasture land is broken in preparation for corn, and the flax, oats 
and corn fields should be fall plowed, if possible, in preparation for 
the small grains to be sown the next year. 

If the land that was sown to oats this year shows signs of low 
productivity, it can be green manured again this autumn. If the 
land is fertile and in good physical condition, green manuring would 
be vinnecessary. 



116 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

























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ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 117 



DIAGRAM VI 

Note: All the preliminary work necessary to the establishment 
of a systematic rotation of crops has now been accomplished. All 
areas are now under plow, the field lines have been straightened out, 
new seedings of grass made for pasture and meadow, and the fields 
so planned as to be easily accessible from the buildings and to con- 
serve time and power in the field operations. A systematic rotation 
of crops is now possible and can begin this year. 

A comparison of this diagram with Diagram II, will reveal the 
many advantages secured through having the fields laid out in a sys- 
tematic manner. In the first place systematic crop rotation will 
undoubtedly raise the productivity of the old grain fields, increase 
the acre production of hay as compared with the old, sodbound timothy 
meadows, and the shifting of the pasture land from one field to an- 
other will enrich the fields from the manure dropped by live stock. In 
the second place, man labor, horse power, and machine capacity for 
work wiU be more efficient on these fields than on the irregularly 
planned fields of Diagram II. 

Any man who has ever handled horses and farm machinery knows 
the advantages of using four or six horse teams and large capacity 
machines, as compared with two or three horse teams and small capac- 
ity machines. He also knows that small, irregularly shaped fields 
cause poor tillage work, weed accumulation, and loss of time in the 
handling of horse power and machinery. The large, straight lined 
field facilitates work with the gang plow, the harrow, the binder and 
the mower, and, also, during the rush seasons of seeding and harvest, 
permits the concentration of the labor crew on a large piece of work 
with no shifting about from one little field to another. All these 
features of farm management are items of consequence in keeping down 
the costs of production on farms, and, therefore, in securing the maxi- 
mum net profit. In fact, they are items that cannot be ignored in 
these days of high wages and scarcity of farm labor. 

If the farmer, nowadays, expects to secure competent labor, he 
will be forced to pay as high wages for competent help as are paid by 
the railroads and manufacturing establishments. It takes abihty to 
handle a four horse team and a gang plow, binder or potato digger,- 
and men having this ability will have to be paid as high wages as they 
could secure in industries other than agriculture. These conditions re- 
lative to American labor must be reaUzed and squarely faced by the 
American farmer. If high wages must be paid, labor must be made 
correspondingly efficient, and to make labor efficient, large teams, 
large capacity machines, and a systematic field arrangement must be 
used. Labor cannot be used efficiently on small, irregularly shaped 
unsystematically arranged fields. On small farms where intensive 
agriculture is practiced, the use of large capacity machines and big 
teams is impractical, but systematic field arrangement facihtates the 
field work whether the farm be large or small. 

Four small fields of about four acres each are laid out this year 
adjoining the farmstead. These fields are aU fenced with hog tight 



118 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 























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ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 119 



fence, so that they can be used alternately for hog pasture. A four 
year rotation of crops is started this year on these small fields, crops be- 
ing chosen that will mainly be used for pasture and feed for live stock. 
This year a portion of the new pasture land is included in these fields, 
and the corn and root crops are planted on pasture sod broken the 
previous autumn. A discussion of this four year rotation and the use 
of these small fields is given in the notes accompanying Diagram VII. 
A comparison of these fields with the farmstead conditions shown in 
Diagram II will reveal the many advantages this plan has for hog 
feeding and the care of young stock. 

A five year rotation of crops is begun this year on the five large 
fields. This rotation and the manner in which the crops are rotated 
are discussed more fully in the notes accompanying Diagram VII. 

In the autumn of this year the oat stubble land is plowed, and the 
pasture land is broken in preparation for corn the succeeding year. 
Among the small fields, plowing is done this autumn on the corn and 
pasture lands. 

DIAGRAM VII 

Note: In the early spring season of this year all fencing is 
completed that was not finished the previous autumn. Lane fences 
are also completed to make all the fields easily accessible to the farm- 
stead. 

A headland of grass, about one rod wide, is laid out around all 
the large fields. This plan can be easily carried out by leaving a head- 
land of grass in the pasture fields, when the pasture land is plowed 
each year in preparation for corn. Thus, as the pasture land is ro- 
tated from one field to aother, the headlands can be laid out without 
any special work. 

Grass headlands keep out weeds along the fence lines, provide 
turning ground for machinery, and make land productive that is 
usually waste land. It is always impossible to crop every foot of 
land within the farm boundaries, especially so if land is cross fenced, 
and if it is planned to use four horse teams and large capacity ma- 
chines. There is always some waste land along the fence lines and 
where turning ground is necessary for machinery. This waste land, 
if it is in grass, prevents weeds from accumulating along the fence 
lines. It can be mowed for hay, and will also provide a little pasture 
in the autumn season when stock is running over the grain stubble 
or cornstalk land. 

Diagram VI shows the farm completely reorganized for a major 
rotation of crops on the five large fields, and a minor rotation of feed 
and pasture crops on the four small fields. The systematic scheme 
of cropping begins with Diagram VI where the various crops of the 
rotation, as shown in Diagram VII are started on the various fields 
in conformity with the field conditions prevailing during reorganiza- 
tion. Diagram VII is really the second year of the rotation plan. In 
Diagram VII the plan of rotation cropping is projected on each field 
for five years, in case of the major rotation, and for four years m case 



120 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 






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ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 121 



of the minor rotation, after which periods of time the rotations begin 
again with the crop numbered one on each field. 

The major rotation of corn, oats, wheat, meadow and pasture, 
occupies five years in completing its cycle on any given field, and these 
crops follow each other in the order named on each field. Thus each 
year the five large fields produce approximately forty acres of corn, 
forty acres of oats, forty acres of wheat, forty acres of meadow, and 
forty acres of pasture. Each field is plowed twice in five years, once 
when the pasture land is broken for corn, and the second time when the 
oat stubble is plowed for wheat. The oat crop would be sown on disked 
corn land. 

The crops in this major rotation can be changed somewhat from 
this plan according to the amount of live stock kept and fed on the 
farm. If desired, wheat may be eliminated entirely from the rotation, 
oats or barley used for the grain nurse crop, and a second crop of corn 
planted where oats are sown in this plan. In this event the land would 
be plowed twice in five years, each time in preparation for com, and 
the grain crop would be sown on disked corn land. If this rotation 
were planned with two crops of corn instead of two grain crops, a 
larger number of cattle and hogs could be fattened than otherwise. 
As the rotation is now planned, it is a plan for mixed grain and Uve 
stock farming. The amount of pasture land in this rotation can be 
increased, if desired, by sowing rape, clover, or vetches with the oat 
crop, or with the corn at its last cultivation, thus providing autumn 
pastui'e. 

The minor rotation of corn, roots, barley and clover, occupies 
four years in completing its cycle on any given field, and the crops 
follow one another in the order named. Thus each year the four 
small fields produce approximately four acres of corn, four acres of 
roots, four acres of barley, and four acres of clover pasture. Each 
field is plowed twice in four years — in preparation for the corn and root 
crops. The land in roots is spring disked for barley. Rape is sown 
with the corn at its last cultivation, and when the corn crop is mature, 
hogs are turned in to "hog off" the corn and the rape. The clover 
field is used as pasture for sows and young pigs. Either potatoes or 
mangels can be planted for the root crop. 

As these diagrams are intended to show principally the methods 
for reorganizing an old farm, and establishing systematic crop rotation, 
no further discussion of these rotations is given here. A more detailed 
discussion of a rotation plan similar to this one is given in Part II., 
Chapter VI., Diagrams IX and XII. 

The total cost of drainage, fencing, and field reorganiza- 
tion on this farm would not exceed $1,200.00, or $5.00 per 
acre, and this cost could be distributed through three or 
four years. Would the investment pay? There is no 
question about it. The investment of $1,200.00 in this 



122 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

kind of work would increase the overhead costs, or carrying 
costs, in the management of this farm by only $72.00 (6% 
on $1,200.00). Thus, if the farm is now made to pay but 
$72.00 additional income each year, the investment is 
justified. But the systematically arranged fields, crop rota- 
tion, and more extensive use of live stock, would do far 
more than this. The systematic field arrangment would 
undoubtedly effect, at the least, a 10% saving in the costs 
of crop production, and, within a few years, after crop rota- 
tion and the greater use of live stock had been started, the 
productivity of the land would increase at least 25%, and 
in all probability 50%. 

Furthermore, it is conservative to say that a system- 
atically planned farm, as this farm would be when reorgan- 
ized, would have a market value 20% to 25% higher than 
when in an unsystematically planned condition. The farm 
would look better and more productive and would, therefore, 
sell better. The investment of $5.00 per acre in such work 
as has been outlined in these diagrams, would add fully 
20% to the selling value of the property. It is improvement 
and productivity that appreciate land values. Prairie land 
newly broken will always sell for more than wild prairie 
land by more than the cost of breaking. Similarly, the 
reorganization and improvement of an old farm will give it 
a market value that will far more than compensate for the 
costs. The man who has the business judgment and the 
ability to improve and systematize an old farm gets ample 
financial rewards for doing such work in advance of the 
average progress in his community. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) What is the cost per rod of laying tile drain? (Get local prices on 
tile and estimates of amounts of labor necessary to open a ditch 
at a given depth, say two feet, and to lay and cover the tile.) 



ESTABLISHMENT OF CROP ROTATION 123 

(2) What is the cost per acre for tiling a 20 acre field with laterals two 

rods apart, and with the tile laid at an average depth of two 
feet? 

(3) If necessary to borrow money with which to accomplish tile drain- 

age what would the interest charge amount to annually on the 
costs computed for question (2)? How many crops of corn, 
wheat, flax, or oats, at average yields and prices, would be nec- 
essary to pay for the costs of drainage computed in question (2)? 

(4) When wheat is worth 70 cents per bushel how many bushels must be 

grown on an acre of land to pay a net profit of 6 per cent on land 
valued at $100.00 per acre? How many bushels of corn, when 
corn is worth 50 cents per bushel? How many bushels of pota- 
toes, when potatoes are worth 40 cents per bushel? See page 
490. 

(5) Draw a diagram of your home farm, or some farm that you are 

familiar with. Draw this diagram to scale and from an actual 
survey of the fields. Show all field boundaries, fence lines, 
lanes, arrangement of buildings, feed yards, and paddocks, 
streams, rough land, land needing drainage, and the crops 
growing on the land in the year the survey was made. Deter- 
mine the number of rods of fence and the acreage of pasture 
land. Invoice the live stock, horses required to perform farm 
work, and the machinery used in operating the farm. Estimate 
the amounts of grain, forage, and pasture annually needed to 
support the live stock enterprises of the farm, if a stock farm. 
Ascertain all facts about land value, markets, and labor, that 
would influence the planning of the most successful type of 
farming possible. 



CHAPTER VI 
PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 

General Nature of the Farm Business. The crops to be 
grown and their arrangement in long or short cycle rotations 
must be determined by the size of the farm, the general 
nature of the farm business, the personal preferences of the 
farm manager, the character of the markets, and the local 
conditions of soil and climate. For example, if a rotation is 
to be planned for a farm, the chief business of which is grain 
production, the annual acreage devoted to grain crops should 
be as high as possible, and the acreage of grass crops as low as 
may be permitted by the principles of crop rotation. In case 
of a dairy and hog farm the annual proportionate acreage of 
forage and pasture crops would, of necessity, have to be 
higher than on a grain farm, and the annual proportionate 
acreage of grain crops less. The annual acreage of the 
grain, grass and cultivated crops must be determined by the 
general nature of the farm business to be followed, whether 
grain growing, dairying, beef and pork production, potato 
growing, cotton growing, the production of sugar beets, or 
other type of farming. 

Short Cycle Rotations and the Kind of Farms to Which 
They Are Adapted. Short cycle rotations, or those in which 
a given number of crops are rotated over a given area of 
land in a comparatively short period of time (three to five 
years), are best adapted to those farms the main policy of 
which is to produce large amounts of dairy produce and 
pork, potatoes, sugar beets or cotton. Farms so managed re- 
quire intensive cultivation, and are usually small in area, be- 
cause the amount of land that a proprietor may successfully 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 



125 



manage in these types of agriculture is small. Diagrams are 
given herewith to exhibit rotations on farms where dairy- 
products and potato or sugar beet products are to be the 
chief sources of farm income. These diagrams, as well as 
all other diagrams in this chapter, are not actual farm plans 
intended to show the complete arrangement of fields, lanes 
and farmstead on a farm, but are merely simple diagrams 
intended to show how a combination of various crops may be 
systematically rotated over a given area of arable land. 



Diagram VIII 


Rotation Plan for a Dairy Farm of 80 Acres. 


(1) 20 Acres 

1. Corn 

2. Oats 

3. Meadow 

4. Pasture 


(2) 20 Acres 

1. Oats 

2. Meadow 

3. Pasture 

4. Corn 


(3) 20 Acres 

1. Meadow 

2. Pasture 

3. Corn 

4. Oats 


(4) 2.0 Acres 

1 . Pasture 

2. Corn 

3. Oats 

4. Meadow 


5. Corn 


5. Oats 


5. Meadow 


5. Pasture 



Note: Each year this rotation would provide twenty acres of 
corn, twenty acres of oats, twenty acres of new meadow land, and 
twenty acres of pasture. It would occupy four years in completing 
its cycle, and the farm would have to be divided into four fields of 
nearly equal size. The land would be plowed once in four years, the 
pasture land being broken up for the corn. The corn land would be 
prepared for oats by thorough double disking. On a farm where it is 
necessary to give consideration to weed eradication the land could be 
plowed in preparation for oats as well as for corn. Barnyard manure 
would be distributed on the pasture lands in preparation for the corn 
crop following the pasture sod. Eventually it would be desirable to 
fence all the fields so that a full use of meadow aftermath and catch 
crop pastures would be possible. 

This rotation would be most practical for a dairy farm where the 
main business of the farm is the production of dairy products. It 
could also be used for a farm producing various kinds of live stock prod- 
ucts. It should be noted that the annual product of grain and grass 
crops is such (one half the farm area in grass crops and one half in grain 
crops) that, if the pasture be fully stocked, the grain and hay yield will 
be just about sufficient to winter the live stock and keep the milch cows 
well fed. The profits from the farm would, therefore, have to arise 
from the sale of milk or other animal products. 



126 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Diagram IX. Rotation Plan for a 120 Acre Dairy and Hog Farm. 



(1) 24 Acres 

1. Corn 

2. Corn 

3. Oats 

4. Meadow 

5. Pasture 


(2) 24 Acres 

1. Corn 

2. Oats 

3. Meadow 

4. Pasture 

5. Corn 


(3) 24 Acres 

1. Oats 

2. Meadow 

3. Pasture 

4. Corn 

5. Corn 


(4) 24 Acres 

1. Meadow 

2. Pasture 

3. Corn 

4. Corn 

5. Oats 


(5) 24 Acres 

1. Pasture 

2. Corn 

3. Corn 

4. Oats 

5. Meadow 


6. Corn 


6. Corn 


6. Oats 


6. Meadow 


6. Pasture 



Note : Each year this rotation would provide forty - eight 
acres of corn, twenty-four acres of oats, twenty-four acres of hay land, 
and twenty-four acres of pasture land. The land would be plowed 
twice in five years, both times in preparation for the corn crop. The 
oats would be sown on disked corn land. Manure would be spread 
on the pasture sod prior to the first corn crop. This rotation would 
occupy five years in completing its cycle, and the farm area would 
have to be divided into five fields of nearly equal size. This rotation 
would be most practical for dairy and hog production on farms of one 
hundred to one hundred and sixty acres in size. On farms of larger 
size it would be a practical rotation for mixed grain and live stock 
farming, with beef cattle, sheep, and swine. 

It may be noted that in this rotation the proportion of grain 
and grass crops has changed from the proportion shown in Diagram 
VIII, and that three fifths of the farm area is devoted to corn and 
oats (grain) and two fifths to grass crops. The surplus of corn produced 
in this rotation, above what is needed for feeding the cows, could be 
profitably fed on a dairy farm to pigs. Thus the entire rotation is 
well adapted for a small dairy and hog farm. 

Diagram X. Rotation Plan for a Potato or Sugar Beet Farm of 
120 Acres. 



(1) 30 Acres 

1. Barley 

2. Clover 

3. Early potatoes 
(Green manure) 

4. Late potatoes 

5. Barley 



(2) 30 Acres 

1. Clover 

2. Early potatoes 
(Green manure) 

3. Late potatoes 

4. Barley 

5. Clover 



(3) 30 Acres 

1. Early potatoes 
(Green manure) 

2. Late potatoes 

3. Barley 

4. Clover 



5. Early potatoes 
(Green manure) 



(4) 30 Acres 

1. Late potatoes 

2. Barley 

3. Clover 

4. Early potatoes 
(Green manure) 

5. Late potatoes 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 127 

Note: Each year this rotation would produce sixty acres of 
potatoes or sugar beets, thirty acres of clover hay, and thirty acres of 
barley for feed. It would occupy four years in completing its cycle and 
the farm area would have to be divided into four fields of nearly equal 
size. The land would be plowed twice in four years, each time in prep- 
aration for the potato crop. The barley would be sown on the potato 
land, disked. 

This rotation is not as symmetrical and as scientific as those given 
in Diagrams VIII and IX, but it is practical for farms engaged in growing 
potatoes or sugar beets as the main product of the farm. The number 
of hve stock that could be kept on a farm practicing this scheme of crop- 
ping would not produce enough manure to cover one fourth of the farm 
area annually, as should be done. Manure and commercial fertilizers 
might have to be purchased to keep up the productivity of some soils 
where a rotation of this kind is practiced. If so, the expense would be 
fully justified on a farm where the main products have as high value per 
acre as potatoes or sugar beets. Animal manures would be applied to 
the clover sod in preparation for early potatoes. Manure for potatoes 
should not be applied when freshly voided, but only when well rotted in 
compost heaps. 

If potatoes are the chief crop to be considered, a green manure crop 
could be introduced between the successive potato crops. Early pota- 
toes could be grown the third year of the rotation, and after harvest a 
green manure crop sown and the foliage plowed under late in the 
autumn. The crop the fourth year would be late potatoes, thus dis- 
tributing the hard work of potato harvest through two seasons, and also 
placing the crop on the market at two different seasons. 

In the case of sugar beets it would be impossible to introduce a 
green manure crop between the two successive crops, but the second 
crop of clover could be plowed under for green manure, thus adding an 
additional amount of humus and nitrogen to the soil, as compared to 
plowing under the stubble and roots of the clover crop after harvesting 
the second crop of hay. 

Long Cycle Rotations and the Kind of Farms to Which 
They Are Adapted. Long cycle rotations, or those where 
a given number of crops is rotated over a given area of land 
in a comparatively long period of time (five to ten years), 
are best adapted to systems of farming where the farms are 



128 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

large (at least 240 to 320 acres), and where it is desired to 
make small grain the chief marketable product. Rotation 
under these conditions is simply planning a few checks on the 
evils of continuous grain cropping. The plan and purpose of 
the farm is still to produce marketable grain, but to recognize 
the fact that continuous grain cropping is disastrous in the 
long run, and that the grain crops may be alternated with 
grass and cultivated crops to the advantage of the entire 
farm business. 

Wherever small grain production is to remain the prom- 
inent feature of the farm business, live stock enterprises must 
be subordinated to the main line of work and be considered 
merely as adjuncts of benefit in the support of the greater 
enterprise. The grass crops necessary to a successful rota- 
tion are not usually sources of profit to the farm, in the grain 
growing districts, unless live stock is used to manufacture 
salable products from the grass and to return all waste matter 
to the land in the form of manure. This function of live 
stock in successful agriculture can be cheaply managed on 
the grain farms by pasturing sheep and young cattle and 
selling them prior to the fattening period. Some income is 
thus secured from the grass lands with little outlay for labor 
and housing, and the grass roots and manure are of incalcu- 
lable benefit in maintaining profitable yields. Grass crops 
may be grown on grain farms for their seed value and the 
land will receive some benefits as regards humus and nitro- 
gen. In such case, however, the benefits to the land are 
not so great as when the grass crops are pastured. 

Long cycle rotations are best adapted to grain farming, 
because it is possible to divide a farm into seven fields, for 
example, and to have four of these fields produce grain each 
year (four sevenths of the farm area) without destroying all 
semblance of systematic crop rotation. In short cycle 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 



129 



rotations it is very nearly impossible to plan a practical com- 
bination of the grain, grass and cultivated crops, and devote 
more than two fifths or one half of the farm area to small 
grain crops annually. This fact becomes apparent from 
Diagrams XI and XII. 

Diagram XI. Rotation Plan for a Grain Farm of 640 Acres. 



(1) 91.4 A. 


(2) 91.4 A. 


(3) 91.4 A. 


(4) 91.4 A. 


(5) 91.4 A. 


(6) 91.4 A. 


(7) 91.4 A. 


1. Corn 


1. Wheat 


1. Wheat 


1. Meadow 


1. Pasture 


1. Wheat 


1. Oats 


2. Wheat 


2. Wheat 


2. Meadow 


2. Pasture 


2. Wheat 


2. Oata 


2. Corn 


3. Wheat 


3. Meadow 


3. Pasture 


3. Wheat 


3. Oats 


3. Corn 


3. Wheat 


4. Meadow 


4. Pasture 


4. Wheat 


4. Oats 


4. Corn 


4. Wheat 


4. Wheat 


5. Pasture 


5. Wheat 


5. Oats 


5. Corn 


5. Wheat 


5. Wheat 


5. Meadow 


6. Wheat 


6. Oats 


6. Corn 


6. Wheat 


6. Wheat 


6. Meadow 


6. Pasture 


7. Oats 


7. Corn 


7. Wheat 


7. Wheat 


7. Meadow 


7. Pasture 


7. Wheat 


8. Corn 


8. Wheat 


S. Wheat 


8. Meadow 


8. Pasture 


8. Wheat 


8. Oata 



Diagram XII. Rotation Plan for a Mixed Grain and Live Stock 
Farm of 640 Acres. 



(1) 128 A. 

Corn 

Oats 

Wheat 

Meadow 

Pasture 



6. Corn 



(2) 128 A. 

1. Oats 

2. Wheat 

3. Meadow 

4. Pasture 

5. Corn 

6. Oats 



(3) 128 A. 

Wheat 

Meadow 

Pasture 

Corn 

Oats 



(4) 128 A. 

1. Meadow 

2. Pasture 

3. Corn 

4. Oats 

5. Wheat 



6. Wheat 6. Meadow 



(5) 128 A. 

1. Pasture 

2. Corn 

3. Oats 

4. Wheat 

5. Meadow 

6. Pasture 



Note: Comparing Diagrams XI and XII, it may be seen that 
the rotation plan in Diagram XI provides small grain for four sevenths 
(365.7 acres) of the farm acreage annually, and five sevenths (457.1 
acres), if the corn crop is matured for grain; while the plan shown in 
Diagram XII provides small grains for two fifths (256 acres) of the 
farm acreage annually, or three fifths (384 acres), if the corn crop is 
included as grain. The rotation plan shown in Diagrarn XII is 
undoubtedly more scientific and better adapted to keep soil in a good 
physical condition, and to freely release the plant food of the soil, 
than the rotation plan in Diagram XI. Diagram XII is not a prac- 
tical plan, however, for a grain farm, and is better adapted for use in 
mixed grain and five stock farming. The larger area of grass land 
in Diagram XII requires more live stock to be kept on the farm, and 
the chief product of the farm becomes five stock rather than grain. 



130 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Diagram XI exhibits a rotation plan that is decidely practical 
for grain producing farms. The humus producing crops and cul- 
tivated crops are so alternated with the grain crops as to be in accord 
with the principles of crop rotation, and, if manure is added to the 
fields twice during the seven-year cycle on the corn land and pasture 
land, high productivity could be maintained for many years. 

A green manure legume crop could be sown after the oat harvest 
in the seventh year of the rotation, and prior to the corn crop, or a 
seeding of mammoth clover made with the oats in the spring of the 
year and the clover vegetation plowed under, thus adding an addi- 
tional supply of humus and nitrogen to the soil. 

There is absolutely no question that the total annual amounts of 
grain sold under this system (four sevenths of the land in small grains) 
would exceed the sales of small grain from an equal area of land where 
continuous grain cropping was practiced. Such a statement refers, 
oi course, to old land and not to land fresh from the breaking plow. 

This rotation shown in Diagram XI would occupy seven years in 
completing its cycle and the farm area would have to be divided into 
seven fields of nearly equal size. Each field would have to be plowed 
four times in seven years, as follows: old oat stubble plowed in prepa- 
ration for corn, wheat stubble plov,ed for succeeding wheat crop, pas- 
ture land plowed for wheat, and the wheat stubble of this crop plowed 
in preparation for oats. Manure would be applied on the land pre- 
pared for the corn, and also on the pasture land, providing experience 
had shown that wheat could be grown without lodging on a pasture 
sod. The corn crop could be grown for grain or for fodder according 
to whether or not the climate is favorable for corn. 

This rotation. Diagram XI, would be improved by growing corn 
two years in seven, placing one corn crop after the pasture land and 
another, as now placed, between the oats and the wheat. Such a 
change is practical, of course, only in climates where the summer 
growing season is long enough to mature corn thoroughly. 

In countries where flax seed is a valued product, flax would be 
the most profitable crop to be grown on the pasture land sod in the 
sixth year of this rotation. 

Rotations for General Live Stock Farming. The rotation 
plan shown in Diagram XII is as well adapted to general live 
stock farming as any that can be formulated. The amount 
of grain and corn produced annually by such a rotation plan 
is more than sufficient to maintain and fatten the num- 
bers of live stock that could be supported by the grass lands. 
This surplus of grain could be sold or used in fattening and 
finishing cattle, sheep, and hogs, purchased to fatten, as the 
proprietor chose. Such a plan is well balanced, elastic, and 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 



131 



well suited to use on farms where it is desired to grow cattle, 
sheep, and hogs, as well as to produce some grain for sale. 
By comparing this plan with Diagram VIII it may be seen 
that the proportion of corn and grain to grass land in Diagram 
XII is somewhat higher than in Diagram VIII, while a com- 
parison with Diagram XI shows that Diagram XI has a 
greater proportion of grain crops to grass crops than Diagram 
XII. The plan of cropping in Diagram VIII is intended for 
intensive dairy farming; Diagram XI for a grain selling farm; 
while the crops in Diagram XII are so adjusted as to make 
the rotation adaptable for several kinds of general live 
stock farming, or for mixed live stock and grain farming. 

Minor Rotations for Live Stock Farms. The term ' 'minor 
rotation" is applied to groups of crops that are specially 




Photo by courtesy "The Partner." 
Pumpkins, planted with corn in minor rotation fields near the buildings and 
feed lots, are a valuable food to supplement corn and other grain in the fat- 
tening of hogs. 



132 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

grown for the purpose of providing summer soiling crops for 
cattle, ensilage crops, root crops for winter feeding, summer 
pasture for young pigs and brood sows, and early spring and 
late fall pasture for sheep, cattle, and pigs. The crops most 
widely used for these purposes are corn, mangels, red clover, 
field peas, cowpeas, vetches, rape, and winter rye. Pump- 
kins, also, when planted with corn in minor rotation fields, 
will provide a large amount of valuable food for hogs during 
the fattening period of late autumn. The term "minor 
rotation" is applied to these groups of crops to signify that 
they are of minor importance to the total interests of the farm 
as compared with the large fields of staple crops, groups of 
which are called "major rotrations." 

It is practically impossible to successfully organize a 
dairy or general live stock farm without making some pro- 
vision for small fields of pasture and soiling crops. Often 
these crops are planted in a haphazard manner and yield only 
a fraction of what they would if systematically cared for in a 
rotation plan. These minor rotations should be used on 
fields adjoining the farm buildings, so that live stock can be. 
quickly turned out to pasture in the fields, or forage can be 
quickly hauled to the feeding lots. 

Minor rotation fields, sown to various legume crops, 
have special pork-producing value at a minimum of cost. 
Clover, alfalfa, field peas, soy beans and cowpeas, provide 
nutritious feed for hogs that they will pasture off at no 
expense for harvesting and feeding. Hogs grown on these 
crops, with some slop feed, arrive at the final fattening 
period with good bone and muscle produced at low cost 
compared with pen feeding. Field peas, corn, or peanuts, 
matured in the field, may also be "hogged off" for fattening. 

A few plans are given herewith with Diagram XIII that 
illustrate the methods of grouping crops in minor rotations. 



PLANS AND DIAGFtAMS 133 

Diagram XIII. Minor Rotation Plans for Live Stock Farms. 





Four 


Bldgs. 


Year 




Minor 


Rotation 




Main Farm 
Major Rotations 





Plan No. 1 



1. Corn (Rape) 

2. Barley and Oats 2 

Pasture (Rye) 

3. Rye (Clover) 3 

4. Clover Pasture 4 



Plan No. 2 
1. Corn (Rye) 

Rye (Clover-Timothy) 



Plan No. 3 



Meadow and Pasture 
Pasture 



Corn (Rape) 
Barley (Clover) 

Clover Pasture 
Mangels 



Plan No. 4 

1. Barley and Oats (Rape) 

2. Field Peas (Rye) 

3. Rye (Rape) 

4. Corn (Rape) 



Plan No. 5 

1. Barley (Clover) 

2. Clover Pasture 

3. Corn (To be hogged off) 

4. Corn (To be hogged off) 



Note : The principal idea usually involved in making up a minor 
rotation is to provide pasture for young cattle, young pigs, brood sows, 
and colts, through as many seasons of the year as possible. A special- 
ized business, such as dairying, might demand the extensive use of these 
fields for soiling crops, silage and root crops, while one such as pork 
production would demand as much clover pasture as possible, and corn 
and rape for fall feed in the fattening period. In regions where alfalfa 
will stand pasturing one or two small fields of this crop in the minor 
rotation are of unexcelled value for pasture for growing swine. 



134 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Five plans are shown in connection with Diagram XIII that could 
be used for general live stock farms, or dairy and hog farmc. A descrip- 
tion of Plan Number 1 will be sufficient to show how such a rotation 
plan would be used to greatest advantage. 

1st Year. Corn planted medium thick. At the last cultivation 
rape is sown among the corn plants at the rate of about three pounds per 
acre. The corn could be cut for summer soihng, for ensilage, or allowed 
to mature as pasture for fattening pigs, sheep or cattle. In either case 
the rape would provide pasture for fattening i^igs or young cattle until 
late in the autumn. 

2nd Year. Barley and oats seeded in spring and used as pasture 
for brood sows and pigs and young cattle during the early summer. 




Photo by courtesy Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station. 
Cowpeas, used for hog pasture, are a valuable factor in producing cheap 
pork in regions having a favorable climate for this crop. 



PLAN'S AND DIAGRAMS 



135 



In late summer seed winter rye and pasture it until the middle of autumn, 
when it should be allowed to grow and strengthen its roots for the ap- 
proaching winter. 

3rd Year. Pasture the winter rye, if the stand is vigorous, until 
late spring and then allow the crop to mature its seeds. After spring 
pasturing on the rye, clover and timothy are seeded among the rye 
plants, and after the rye harvest the grass crop is allowed to occupy the 
land till winter with little or no pasturing. 

4th Year. The clover and timothy are pastured all summer and 
fall by brood sows and pigs, or young cattle, and plowed up late in the 
autumn in preparation for the succeeding crop of corn. 

The Use of Catch Crops in the Rotation. Catch crops 
have been defined and explained in previous paragraplis as 
those crops that may be so^\^l in a rotation to talce the 
place of regular, staple crops that have failed on account of 
unfavorable climatic conditions, or as crops that may be 
so^vn with regular crops, or between the seasons for regular 




Canadian field peas. A valuable legume crop in northern climates for grain, 
forage, hog pasture or green manure. Field peas may be used as a "catch 
crop" to substitute for injured clover crops in the rotation. 



136 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

crops as supplementary pasture for live stock, or jto produce 
a second marketable crop in one growing season. 

The American farmer has never made a wide use of 
catch crops in his scheme of farming, principally because 
American agriculture has been mainly conducted by ex- 
tensive rather than by intensive methods, catch crops fitting 
better into intensive rather than extensive schemes. In 
many regions of China, for example, where the most inten- 
sive kind of farming is practiced, the Chinese farmers have 
become highly proficient in the use of catch crops, and land 
is thus made to produce several crops in a season. Such 
crops as buckwheat and turnips are used to occupy the land 
after a crop of barley has been taken off, or soy beans are 
planted between the hills of sorghum plants and harvested 
after the sorghum crop is removed from the land. By such 
methods as these the Chinese farmer keeps his land producing 
crops at all growing seasons of the year. 

In some agricultural regions of the United States, such 
as the groups of South Central and South Atlantic states, 
the long growing season permits several crops to be easily 
grown on the same piece of land in one year, but in the 
North Central, North Atlantic, and North Pacific Coast states, 
the schemes of farming that have developed have never made 
a wide use of the catch crops. One crop a year is the more 
common rule. In many regions of the North Central states, 
in particular, land is idle from the time of small grain har- 
vest until winter. In these regions such crops as corn, 
potatoes, roots, and clover must occupy the land for the 
entire growing season to mature the crop; but in the case 
of the small grains, especially barley and rye, a considerable 
part of the growing season remains after the normal harvest. 
Here, then, is a chance to introduce catch crops into the 
rotation and to increase the total products. 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 



137 



Catch crops can be used to greatest advantage in the 
North Central states in increasing the amount of autumn pas- 
ture on farms. Regular pastures often become short in late 
summer and autumn, and the catch crop pasture can then 
be used to keep live stock growing or to keep milch cows 
from shrinking in their milk production. The catch crops 
most widely used for this purpose are rape, sown with the 
grain in the spring, or either mammoth or red clover sown 
with the grain in the spring, and pastured in the autumn. 
Field peas, millet, and the vetches can also be used in some 
regions by seeding after the grain harvest. Winter rye, if 
sown early, will also produce some pasture in the autumn. 
The choice of a crop for this purpose depends on the local 
conditions regarding adaptability of the crop to climate, 




Photo by courtesy "Breeders' Gazette." 
Western lambs fattening on corn and soy beans in Indiana. The soy beana 
are sown with the corn at the last cultivation and both crops fed off in the field 
in the autumn. 



138 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

the price of the seed, and the kind of live stock to be pas- 
tured on the catch crop. 

Buckwheat and turnips are two quick maturing crops 
that can be used to advantage as catch crops to follow small 
grains in the same growing season. In many regions of the 
North Central states, thoroughly disked grain stubble 
land will produce a good crop of buckwheat before winter. 
If turnip seed is merely scattered and then harrowed in 
on summer plowing after a grain crop, an excellent sheep pas- 
ture can be provided for late autumn. A turnip pasture is 
the finest feed available for old ewes after the lambs are 
taken away in the autumn. 

Catch crops, according to the definition previously 
given, are sometimes planted to take the place of regular 
crops that have frozen out. If a grass crop, for example, 
is frozen out by a severe winter, some crop must be planted 
the succeeding spring to take the place of the meadow land 
in the rotation that would have furnished forage for the 
succeeding winter. Canadian field peas, mixed with oats, 
make a good catch crop for a case of this sort. The crop 
can be cut and cured for hay and will produce a heavy 
yield of nutritious forage. Fodder corn and millet are 
other crops that can be used for the same purpose. The 
land can be put back into grass again by sowing grass seeds 
after the pea harvest or in the corn at the last cultivation. 

In Diagram XIII, numerous catch crops are shown that 
illustrate various methods of introducing catch crops into 
the rotation. 

In Diagram XIV, given herewith, the rotation plan 
in Diagram XII is used to illustrate the use of catch crops 
for autumn pasture, under conditions where it is desired 
to make full and complete use of the resources of the farm 
for live stock production. 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 139 

Diagram XTV. The Use of Catch Crops in the Rotation. 
(Plan similar to Diagram XII, but with addition of the catch 
crops) . 

1. Corn — Catch crop of rape sown at last cultivation and pas- 
tured late autumn. 

2. Oats — ^Mammoth clover sown in spring with oats and pastured 
early autumn. 

3. Wheat — Grasses seeded this year with wheat. 

4. Meadow — Catch crop of peas and oats or fodder corn in case 
grass crop is thin or entirely frozen out. 

5. Pasture. 

Note: In this rotation plan (same as Diagram XII) a large 
amount of supplementary pasture for live stock could be provided on 
the fields occupied each year by the corn and oat crops. 

Rape seed could be scattered in the corn at its last cultivation 
and after corn harvest the rape crop would furnish a rich pasture for 
sheep or cattle in the late autumn. Rape is not injured by early 
autumn frosts and will furnish feed until late. As this corn land is not 
fall plowed but spring disked for the succeeding crop of oats, the land 
can be pastured until very late. Where hogs and cattle are being 
fattened in the autumn months a portion of this corn and rape crop can 
be temporarily fenced off, if desired, and stock turned in a few hours 
every day to feed off both the corn and the rape, thus reducing some 
of the labor expense of crop growing and live stock feeding. 

Additional supplementary autumn pasture can be provided in 
this rotation by seeding mammoth clover with the oats in the spring 
of the year, and pasturing off the clover in the early autumn. Pas- 
turing would have to cease on this field in time to permit fall plowing 
in preparation for wheat. 

In this plan there is also an illustration of the use of catch crops to 
take the place of regular crops in the rotation that have failed to make 
a productive stand. In the event of the failure of a grass crop, fodder 
corn can be planted, and the fodder thus secured will take the place 
of the regular hay crop. When the fodder corn is cultivated for the 
last time, grass seeds may be scattered and covered with the culti- 
vator, thus producing a stand of grass for the ensuing year. A mix- 
ture of peas and oats could also be sown, to produce forage m the 
event of grass failure. Winter rye could be sown after the pea har- 
vest to provide spring and early summer pasture for the ensuing year, 
or, if desired, the land could be put back into grass by sowing grass 
seeds after the pea harvest. 

MiUet and fodder corn are two good catch crops that can be 
used to take the place of spring sown, annual crops, that sometimes 
fail on account of early summer drouth or hail. Unforeseen crop 
damage can thus be largely recovered, providing the farm is carrying 
sufficient live stock to utilize the forage. 



140 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

The Use of Green Manure Crops in the Rotation. Green 
manure crops are grown for the particular purpose of 
adding vegetable matter to the soil. A heavy green 
manure crop offers the quickest possible method for re- 
storing productivity to old, badly tilled, worn out soils in a 
poor physical and chemical condition, or for increasing the 
productivity of sandy soil. 

The green manure crop is rarely used or needed on farms 
where pasture lands are rotated, where there are plentiful 
supplies of barnyard manure, or where annual, catch crop 
pastures are used to supplement the regular pasture land. 
Under these conditions a humus equilibrium is easily main- 
tained in the soil and there is little need for the green manure 
crop. But where the permanent pasture is used instead of 
the rotation pasture, and where annual catch crop pastures 
are not in use, or where a long cycle rotation for grain farm- 
ing is practiced, the green manure crop is a necessity in 
maintaining a humus equilibrium and keeping soils in a 
high state of productivity through long periods of time. 

Green manure crops are introduced into the rotation in 
the same manner as catch crops that are sown with or be- 
tween regular crops. The best crops to use for green manure 
purposes are crops belonging to the legume family, because 
such crops are associated with the bacteria which gather at- 
mospheric nitrogen. Green manure crops can be introduced 
into rotations to the best advantage usually after the small 
grain crops. In that event the green manure crop should 
approach maturity before being plowed under. Legume 
crops, as they approach maturity, contain more stored up 
supplies of nitrogenous matter than when young and before 
seeds begin to form, and thus it is better to plow under 
the crop during the late than the early stages of growth. 
The best legume crops to be used for green manure pur- 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 



141 



poses are cowpeas, soy beans, field peas, vetches, and mam- 
moth clover. The choice of these crops depends on the 
adaptability of the crop to the local climatic conditions, the 
length of the season in which the crop can grow, and the cost 
of the seed necessary to start the crop. All of these crops 
except mammoth clover would be sown after the grain crop 
had been removed from the land, and in a seed bed prepared 
by thorough disking or shallow plowing. The mammoth 
clover seed should be sown with the grain crop in the spring 




Plowing under a green manure crop of Canadian field peas. Green manure 
legume crops are especially useful as a means for quickly restoring humus and 
nitrogen to worn lands, or to improve sandy lands, at the minimum of expense. 



142 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

of the year and would grow a great mass of foliage after the 
grain crop had been removed. 

Some reference has been made to the use of green manure 
crops in rotation plans in Diagrams X and XI and also the 
methods for introducing these crops into the rotation plan. 
The use of green manure crops in rotation plans on farms 
having permanent pastures is illustrated in Diagram XIX. 
Their use in long cycle rotations on grain growing farms is 
illustrated in the accompanying diagram, number XV. This 
is the same rotation plan as number XI, but reproduced here 
to illustrate the use of green manure crops in greater detail. 

Diagram XV. The Use of Green Manure Crops in a Long Cycle 
Rotation on an Extensive Grain Growing Farm. 

(Plan similar to Diagram XI, but with addition of green manure 
crops.) 

1. Corn. 

2. Wheat or Barley — Green manure crop plowed under in late 
autumn. 

3. Wheat — Grasses seeded. 

4. Meadow. 

5. Pasture. 

6. Wheat or Flax. 

7. Oats — Green manure crop plowed under in late autumn. 

Note: On land already in a high state of productivity this 
rotation would keep the land in good physical condition, and in a high 
state of productivity, for many years, without the use of green manure 
crops, especially if the two grass crops were fully used by live stock 
and the manure returned to the soil. 

In instances, however, where an old grain growing farm has be- 
come badly run down, and the soil is in a poor physical condition and 
deficient in available plant food, it would be necessary to introduce 
green manure crops into the rotation to quickly bring the soil to a 
condition of high productivity. The green manure crops could be 
introduced into this rotation in two places to advantage: (1) after 
wheat or barley in the second year of the rotation; and (2) after oats 
in the seventh year of the rotation. Whether it would be advisable 
to use one or two green manure crops in this rotation would depend 
entirely on the physical condition and productivity of the soil. If 
the land is in a badly run down condition, it would be advisable to 
use green manure crops in both the second and seventh years of the 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 143 

rotation until the land had been put in good condition again, when 
one of the green manure crops could be abandoned. The most logical 
place to introduce a green manure crop in this rotation would be with 
the oat crop in the seventh year, because of the fact that corn, a gross 
feeding crop, follows the green maniu-e, and because a green manure 
crop in this place in the rotation is midway between the grain and 
cultivated crops that are on the land between those periods when 
the land is occupied by grass crops. 

A heavy green manure crop in the second year of the rotation, 
following wheat or barley, would probably cause rank straw and lodged 
grain in the third year of the rotation, if the land were very rich and 
productive. On worn out land, however, this difficulty would not be 
encountered, and the green manure crop would be of distinct benefit 
in improving the physical condition of the soil and in releasing avail- 
able plant food. 

In the grain growing sections of the North Central states, to 
which this particular rotation is best adapted, the best green manure 
crop to use would probably be mammoth clover. Three or four pounds 
of seed per acre, sown with the grain in the spring of the year, would 
produce a heavy growth of foliage in the late summer and autumn, 
after the grain crop was removed from the land, and, when plowed 
under, would greatly enrich the land. One of the greatest advantages 
of using this crop for green manure purposes is that it requires no 
extra labor whatsoever to include the crop in the rotation. The seed 
is sown with the grain in the spring of the year, and there is no work 
to be done on the green manure crop after the grain harvest. The 
only cost of the crop is for seed, and this is a small item compared 
with the benefits to be gained. Other crops than mammoth clover 
can be used, however, if desired. Early maturing soy beans, field 
peas and vetches make good green manure crops. When these crops 
are used, the grain stubble land should be disked or shallow plowed 
after the grain harvest to destroy weeds and to prepare a seed bed 
in which the green manure crop can make a quick start. 

When the green manure crop is plowed under in the late autumn, 
the work of plowing needs careful attention; for a poor job of plowing 
will leave a rough seed bed for the succeeding crop. The land should 
be plowed a little deeper than usual to bring up enough soil to thor- 
oughly cover the vegetation, and the rolling coulter and a drag chain 
used to roll under the green manure crop in nice shape. 

The Use of Cover Crops in the Rotation. Cover crops, 
sown for the particular purpose of preventing soil washing and 
the loss of soluble plant food during seasons when soil areas 
are not occupied by regular crops, are not extensively used in 
the Northern part of the Temperate Zone where the soil is 
frozen solid for five or six months in the year. In more 



144 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

southerly regions, however, where there is a distinct winter 
season, but where the winters are comparatively mild, and 
where considerable soil washing takes place during the winter 
season, the cover crop is often used to check the process of 
soil washing and the loss of soluble plant food. The cover 
crop is especially useful in protecting soils after the growth 
of a cultivated crop where the bare soil and furrowed ground 
are very susceptible to soil washing. 

Generally the cover crop used is one that will withstand 
the winter climate and start growth again in the spring of the 
year. It is usually sown with the cultivated crop in early 
autumn, allowed to stay on the land all autumn and winter, 
allowed to produce considerable foliage again in the early 
spring, and is then plowed under in preparation for the regu- 
lar spring sown crop. In this manner the soil is covered 
with a mulch from the harvest season of one year until the 
seeding season of the following year, and little soluble plant 
food is washed away. The cover crop, during its growth, 
absorbs a large part of the soluble plant food of the soil, and 
when plowed under this soluble plant food is returned to the 
soil for the succeeding crop. 

Crimson clover, sweet clover, and winter rye are very 
commonly used as cover crops. In Diagram XVI three 
plans are shown for the inclusion of cover crops in rotations. 
It may be noticed that in all these plans the soil is never 
left uncovered at any period of the rotation cycle. 

Diagram XVI. The Use of Cover Crops in the Rotation. 

Plan No. 1. 

1. Com — Sweet clover "cover crop" sown in corn at last culti- 
vation. 

2. Soy Beans — Autumn sown wheat. 

3. Wheat — Seed down to grass. 

4. Meadow. 

5. Pasture. 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 145 

Plan No. 2. 

1. Tobacco — Autumn sown rye "cover crop." 

2. Tobacco — Autumn sown wheat. 

3. Wheat — Seed down to grass. 

4. Meadow. 

5. Pasture. 
Plan 3. 

1. Corn — Crimson clover "cover crop" sown in corn at last cul- 
tivation. 

2. Corn — Autumn sown wheat. 

3. Wheat — Seed down to grass. 

4. Meadow. 

5. Pasture. 

The Use of Alfalfa in Crop Rotation. Alfalfa cannot be 
as easily rotated in short cycles with the grain and cultivated 
crops as red clover, alsike clover, or mixtures of these clovers 
with timothy and brome grass. The reasons are that 
alfalfa is a perennial crop; that it requires at least one year, 
and more commonly two years in Northern climates to get a 
good stand; and that the seed is so costly as to make it 
impractical to be continually breaking up alfalfa sods and 
re-seeding new fields. A field of alfalfa, once well started, 
should remain as permanent meadow for at least five or six 
years before it is broken. 

Thus, when alfalfa occupies one field for many years and 
is relied on as the sole source of cured hay, the remaining 
fields of the farm must grow grain crops and cultivated crops 
for long periods of time, and, even though alfalfa be rotated 
over all fields of the farm, relatively long periods must elapse 
when grain and cultivated crops occupy the land with no 
intervening humus producing crops Diagram XV 11 illus- 
trates this point, and also the point that, while alfalfa can be 
successfully rotated in long cycle rotations, it is more diffi(3ult 
to systematically rotate it with grain and cultivated crops m 
short cycles. 

10 



146 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Diagram XVII. Alfalfa and Systematic Crop Rotation. 


(1) 




(2) 




(3) 




(4) 




(5) 


1. Wheat 


1. 


Alfalfa 


1. 


Alfalfa 


1. 


Alfalfa 


1. 


AKalfa 


2. Alfalfa 


2. 


AlfaKa 


2 


Alfalfa 


2. 


Alfalfa 


2. 


Alfalfa 


3. Alfalfa 


3. 


Alfalfa 


3! 


Alfalfa 


3! 


Alfalfa 


3. 


Corn 


4. Alfalfa 


4. 


Alfalfa 


4. 


Alfalfa 


4. 


Corn 


4. 


Oats 


5. Alfalfa 


5. 


Alfalfa 


5. 


Corn 


5. 


Oats 


5. 


Corn 


6. Alfalfa 


6. 


Corn 


6. 


Oats 


6. 


Corn 


6. 


Wheat 


7. Corn 


7. 


Oats 


7. 


Corn 


7. 


Wheat 


7. 


AKalfa 


8. Oata 


8. 


Corn 


8. 


Wheat 


8. 


Alfalfa 


8. 


Alfalfa 


9. Cora 


9. 


Wheat 


9. 


Alfalfa 


9. 


AlfaKa 


9. 


AKaKa 


(6) 




(7) 




(S) 




(9) 






1. Alfalfa 


1. 


Cora 


1. 


Oats 


1. 


Corn 






2. Com 


2 


Oats 


2 


Corn 


2_ 


Wheat 






3. Oats 


3! 


Corn 


3! 


Wheat 


3! 


AKaKa 






4. Cora 


4. 


Wheat 


4. 


Alfalfa 


4. 


Alfalfa 






5. Wheat 


5. 


Alfalfa 


5. 


Alfalfa 


5. 


AlfaKa 






6. Alfalfa 


6. 


Alfalfa 


6. 


Alfalfa 


6. 


AKalfa 






7. Alfalfa 


7. 


Alfalfa 


7. 


Alfalfa 


7. 


AKalfa 






8. AKalfa 


8. 


Alfalfa 


8. 


Alfalfa 


8. 


Corn 






9. AKalfa 


9. 


Alfalfa 


9. 


Corn 


9. 


Oats 







Note: In this plan sufficient grain producing crops have been 
included with the aKalfa to give a plan suitable for general grain and 
live stock farming. Each field of aKalfa remains unplowed for five 
years in order to keep the alfalfa seed cost at a minimum, and in order 
to allow time for the alfaKa crop to obtain its maximum productiveness. 
The rotation would occupy nine years in completing its cycle, aKalfa 
occupying the land for five j'ears and grain producing crops for four 
years. 

The rotation would be better balanced were a legume crop such 
as field peas introduced in the eighth year of the rotation, after corn, 
with oats the ninth year and corn the tenth year, thus making a ten- 
year rotation. If the rotation is planned as a nine-year rotation, a 
green manure crop could be introduced to advantage with the oat 
crop of the eighth year. 

Such a rotation plan, with its preponderance of aKaKa, is suited 
only to regions where aKalfa is a certain and dependable crop, and 
where the feeding of five stock or the sale of alfalfa hay is practical 
and profitable. It is a plan ill suited to small farms, because it ne- 
cessitates dividing the farm area into nine or ten fields, and should 
the total farm area be small, each field would be too small for the prac- 
tical operation of machinery and for good field management. This 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 



147 



plan, or some plan of a similar nature, however, could be adopted 
on large farms of 640 acres or more in size, where it is desired to make 
alfalfa the main crop. 

Alfalfa cannot be systematically rotated on small farms 
with corn and small grains in regions where it is desired to 
make corn, wheat, oats, or other small grains, the chief 
products of the farm. It must occupy the land for a relative- 
ly long period of time, and for this reason it becomes the chief 
crop of any farm where it is systematically rotated with the 
grain and cultivated crops. The clover grass crops are much 
better adapted for rotation with corn and the small grains, 
where these crops are staple crops, than alfalfa. In regions 
where alfalfa is a certain and dependable crop a system of 
agriculture which makes alfalfa the main crop is most profit- 
able and advisable. Alfalfa is the most perfect animal food 
known to man; it is very productive and cheaply produced; 




Photo by courtesy Montana Ranches Company. 

Alfalfa ia not so well suited to short course rotations with grain and cultivated 
crops as red clover. Whenever alfalfa becomes one of the main crops of the farm 
it should be left in permanent fields for five to ten years. Grain and cultivated 
crops will then be rotated over the other fields of the farm with annual pastures 
and green manures employed to maintain the humus and nitrogen supply 
of the soil. 



148 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

and it can be rotated successfully with grain and cultivated 
crops under the conditions named in the notes accompanying 
Diagram XVII. 

If alfalfa is to be grown in regions where it is not an 
absolutely certain crop, and where corn and small grains 
are staple, it is better policy to set aside for alfalfa an 
odd field that does not easily fit into a rotation plan with the 
other fields of the farm, than to try to rotate it with the 
main crops of the farm. Red clover, alsike clover, mammoth 
clover, and crimson clover, as meadow and pasture crops, 
as well as humus producing and nitrogen gathering crops, 
fit into a short cycle rotation with corn, wheat, oats, barley, 
cotton, potatoes or sugar beets, much better than alfalfa. 
Alfalfa is a distinctly valuable crop, however, on any live 
stock farm for its unsurpassed feeding qualities, and a few 
fields of this crop will yield a most valuable feeding ad- 
junct to grain feeds such as corn and oats. Alfalfa is also 
an excellent crop to establish on the rolling portions of 
farms. It holds the soil from washing badly and provides 
the best of pastures. 

One advantage that alfalfa has over red clover and 
alsike clover as a hay and pasture crop for live stock is, 
that its deep roots enable it to survive periods of drouth 
that are fatal to new seedings of the clover crops. This 
fact about alfalfa is worthy of consideration in some cli- 
mates, as well as its productiveness and nutritive value. 
In Diagram XVIII, a plan is briefly outlined whereby 
alfalfa can be grown on farms where conditions necessitate 
a short cycle rotation and not disrupt a practical -plan of 
crop rotation on all the fields. This plan would be specially 
adapted to live stock farming, and, with the large amounts 
of manure produced under such conditions, the soil would 
undoubtedly be kept in a high state of productivity. 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 



149 



Diagram XVIII, Alfalfa Field Combined with a Four-Year Rota- 
tion for Farm Conditions Necessitating a Short Cycle Rotation. 


(1) 




(2) 


(3) 


(4) 


(5) 


1. Alfalfa 

2. Alfalfa 

3. Alfalfa 

4. Alfalfa 


1. 
2. 
3. 

4. 


Corn 
Oats 
Wheat 
Clover 


1. Oats 

2. Wheat 

3. Clover 

4. Corn 


1. Wheat 

2. Clover 

3. Corn 

4. Oats 


1. Clover 

2. Corn 

3. Oats 

4. Wheat 




(AKalfa 


and shifted t 


n finlfl 'I'l 










5. Corn 

6. Oats 

7. Wheat 

8. Clover 


5. 

6. 

7. 
8. 


Wheat 
Clover 
Corn 
Oats 


5. Oats 

6. Wheat 

7. Clover 

8. Corn 


5. Clover 

6. Corn 

7. Oats 

8. Wheat 


5. Alfalfa 

6. Alfalfa 

7. Alfalfa 

8. Alfalfa 
(Indefinite) 



Note: The plan of this rotation, designed to include alfalfa 
in a practical manner on small farms necessitating short cycle rota- 
tions, is, to seed down one field permanently to alfalfa for a period 
of several years and to carry out a four-year rotation including red 
clover on the remaining fields of the farm. When it is desired to 
break up the alfalfa field, a new seeding can be made with one of the 
grain crops, and if a successful stand is secured, the old field can be 
broken up and planted to some strong growing crop like corn. After 
the new field of alfalfa has become established, the four-year rotation 
proceeds on the remaining four fields as before. The only important 
difference in this plan from that of an ordinary four-year rotation is, 
that, in the year when it is desired to seed a new crop of alfalfa, grass 
seedmg would have to be done on two fields, one field for alfalfa, and 
the other for red clover. 

In making the shift of fields necessary to establish a new seeding 
of alfalfa it may be noticed that on field No. 2 a wheat crop is sown 
following a clover crop. Under most soil conditions it would probably 
be better to plant a cultivated crop, such as corn, on the clover sod. If 
the soil is light and not heavliy supplied with available nitrogen, this 
place in the rotation would be excellent for wheat. If the soil con- 
ditions are such that wheat would probably lodge, if sown on a clover 
sod, a crop of corn could be planted after the clover and ? new seeding 
of clover made in the corn at its last cultivation, thus putting the land 
back into clover and its prescribed place in the four-year rotation. 

If a plan of this kind, which produces a large amount of hay each 
year in proportion to the amount of grain, is impractical on account 
of this fact, it would be possible to substitute corn or oats for the 
clover, and to maintain a humus equilibrium on the fields of the four- 
year rotation by means of green manure crops. The red clover field 
could also be used for pasture, providing the land were not pastured 
too closely. By pasturing the hard alfalfa land early in the spring and 



150 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



allowing the clover crop to make a strong start, it could be used for 
pasture during the summer months without any difficulty. 

It should be understood that this plan is diagrammatic and shows 
only one of several plans that could be made to combine alfalfa fields 
with short cycle rotations. 

Permanent Pastures and Crop Rotation. In the opening 
paragraphs of Chapter V it was stated that systematic 
crop rotation, with tlie use of rotation pastures, is impractical 
on some farms where there are rough lands, or fields cut up 
badly by streams, that will produce permanent pasture 
grasses, but cannot be included in a rotation plan with the 
arable lands of the farm. Many farms in the United States 
have lands of this kind which prevent reorganization of the 
farm by such methods as are shown in Diagrams II to VII, 
and where permanent pasture is the only revenue that 
can be derived from certian areas. Furthermore, in some 
regions the permanent pasture of white clover and blue grass 
is preferred to the rotation pasture of red clover and timothy, 




A pasture scene in New England. The permanent pasture is a necessity on 
the majority of farms because of the stony soil and rough topography. The 
grass crop of these lands is utilized to the best advantage by dairy cattle. 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 151 

or alsike clover with timothy or brome .grass. The rotation 
pasture does not thicken up on the ground and stand as contin- 
uous and close pasturing and tramping by cattle and sheep 
as the firmly established white clover and blue grass pasture. 

Where mixed grain and live stock farming is practiced 
and where it is not necessary to pasture land closely, the 
rotation pasture is usually to be preferred, wherever all 
areas of the farm are arable or can be made so. The rota- 
tion pasture distributes manure periodically over all areas 
of the farm without any costs, and keeps up the general 
productiveness of the farm lands at the least expense. 
Thus, when mixed grain and live stock farming is being 
practiced, the rotation pasture is preferable, wherever 
possible, in consideration of the effect it has on the pro- 
ductiveness of all crops in the rotation. 

Where land is to be pastured closely by dairy cattle or 
sheep, and where live stock enterprises constitute the chief 
business of the farm, the thick sod of a white clover and 
blue grass permanent pasture is preferable to the rotation 
pasture, in some agricultural regions. In such a case there 
is more manure available on the farm to spread on the 
plow land than where mixed grain and live stock farming is 
being practiced. The use of this manure from large numbers 
of live stock will do much toward keeping up the produc- 
tivity of the plow land on the farm, and then, if green manure 
crops be occasionly grown on the plow lands, the produc- 
tivity of the fields can be kept up as well as though pasture 
lands were periodically rotated over the farm. If condi- 
tions indicate that the permanent pasture of white clover 
and blue grass will yield more pasture than the rotation 
pasture of red clover and timothy, the arable land used for 
permanent pasture can be left unbroken for relatively 
long periods of time, and the other crops of the farm rotated 



152 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



with clover meadow and green manured occasionally in 
much the same manner as was shown in Diagram XVIII, 
illustrating the method of rotating farm crops where one 
field of the farm is kept permanently in alfalfa. 

In Diagram XIX a rotation plan is shown that will illus- 
strate a practical method for rotating crops on farms where 
the permanent pasture is a necessity, or where it is desirable 
to keep a portion of the arable land in permanent pasture 
for relatively long periods of time. This plan is not copied 
from any actual survey, but is merely a diagram to illustrate 
methods that can be applied to any farm where these con- 
ditions prevail. 

Diagram XIX. Crop Rotation with Permanent Pasture Lands. 



(1) 




(2) 


(3) 


(4) 




(5) 


1. Pasture 


1. 


Corn 


1. Oats 
(Green 
manure) 


1. Wheat 


1. 


Meadow 


2. Pasture 


2. 


Oats 

(Green 

manure) 


2. Wheat 


2. Meadow 


2. 


Corn 


3. Pasture 


3. 


Wheat 


3. Meadow 


3. Corn 


3. 


Oats 

(Green 

manure) 


4. Pasture 


4. 


Meadow 


4. Corn 


4. Oats 
(Green 
manure) 


4. 


Wheat 








„„,i „i,;f*„j i^ 


firlrl '^\ 






(Pasture Icmu oim ucu lu 


neiu /&; 




5. Corn 


5. 


Pasture 


5. Oats 
(Green 
manure) 


5. Wheat 


5. 


Meadow 


6. Oats 


6. 


Pasture 


6. Wheat 


6. Meadow 


6. 


Corn 


(Green 














manure) 














7. Wheat 


7. 


Pasture 


7. Meadow 


7. Corn 


7. 


Oats 
(Green 
manure) 


8. Meadow 


8. 


Pasture 


8. Corn 


8. Oats 


8. 


Wheat 




(Indefinite) 




(Green 










1 




manure) 







PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 153 



Note: This diagram shows a farm divided into five fields, one 
of which is permanent blue grass and white clover pasture. On the 
other four fields of the farm, a four-year rotation of corn, oats, wheat 
and meadow is practiced. The meadow land is broken each year in 
preparation for the succeeding corn crop. A green manure crop is 
sown with the oats and plowed under late in the autumn. 

If the permanent pasture land is rough and incapable of tillage, 
this land must, of course, stay in grass always, in which event the 
four-year rotation is practiced on the other four fields without any 
interruption. If the land in permanent pasture is arable, and growing 
permanent pasture only because it is the desire of the farm manager 
to do so, the pasture can be shifted at any time, every five to eight 
years, to any other field of the farm. 

The upper half of this diagram illustrates the rotation of the 
crops in the event that the permanent pasture is rough, untiUable 
land. The lower half of the diagram, taken in connection with the 
upper half, illustrates how the permanent pasture can be shifted from 
one field to another, in case all areas of the farm are arable. Suppose, 
for example, field 1 is arable, and has been in permanent pasture so 
long that the grass is sodbound and a change of pasture is deemed 
desirable. Two years prior to the shifting of the pasture the change 
must be planned for by mixing white clover and blue grass seeds in 
the regular grass mixture used for meadow grass seeding. Then, if 
a good stand of grasses is secured, the old pasture sod can be broken 
up for corn, and the meadow land goes into pasture. Meanwhile 
grass seeds have been sown with the wheat crop of the previous year, 
and thus, as soon as the old pasture sod is broken, new pasture land 
and new meadow land have been prepared, so that the new pasture 
land can remain permanent pasture indefinitely, and the four-year 
rotation continues over the balance of the farm as shown in the upper 
half of the diagram. 

With one year of meadow and one year with a green manure crop 
in this four-year rotation, there is no question that the system of crop- 
ping will maintain soil productivity. This rotation is practically the 
same as the one shown in Diagrams VII and XII, and just as good 
in every respect. The permanent pasture need not stand in the way 
of successful crop rotation, if the meadow land is rotated over the 
arable fields of the farm, if deep rooted legumes like red clover or mam- 
moth clover are used for the meadow crop, and if occasional green ma- 
nure crops or catch crops for supplementary pasture are used to assist 
in maintaining a humus equilibrium in the soil. 

Rotation Plans without Pasture Lands for Intensive 
Systems of Live Stock Farming. Where land values are 
very high, and farms located close to big cities where there 
is great demand for fresh dairy products, a system of dairy 
farming is sometimes adopted that does not provide pas- 



154 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

ture for the cows, but soiling crops and ensilage for the 
summer green feed. Of course such a system of dairy- 
farming is more expensive than one that provides the sum- 
mer feed by means of pasture land. But the system permits 
a greater number of cows to be kept on a given area of land 
than when pasture lands are used for summer feed. Thus 
the gross income from a given area of land is materially 
increased, and while the costs of the business may be higher 
than in case a portion of the farm area is in pasture land. 



^^iii.^ 





Photo by courtesy " Hoard's Dairyman." 

Specialized dairy farming on farms of 80 to 160 acres in size, without pastures, 
and with summer feed provided by means of silage and soiling crops, is one of 
the best solutions of the problem of securing a satisfactory profit from high 
priced agricultural land. 

the costs do not increase in proportion to the increase in 
gross income, and, therefore, the net profit from a given 
area of land is greater. 

If close to a big city, the relatively small, highly devel- 
oped, dairy farm that keeps a large number of cows on a 
given area of land by means of summer soiling crops and 
ensilage, is a very profitable type of farming and successful 
so long as a sufficient labor supply is available to con- 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 155 

duct the business. This method of farming, in fact, offers 
one of the best solutions to the problem of making the 
small, high priced farm pay a good dividend on the invest- 
ment. 

Rotation plans for this kind of farming can be made 
very simple. The productivity of the* soil is easily main- 
tained with the large amounts of manure available, and, 
therefore, the rotation can be planned with but one main 
object in veiw, namely, to produce the largest possible 
amounts of roughage and grain feed from the farm area for 
the feeding of the live stock, and at the same time to arrange 
the fields in a systematic manner. The plans must include 
ensilage crops for winter, spring and early summer feeding, 
and soiling crops that can be cut and fed green in the late 
summer and early autumn. Corn is the standard ensilage 
crop in most regions of the United States, with field peas, 
cowpeas, soy beans, or the clovers sometimes used to mix 
with the corn in the silo. The soiling crops most commonly 
used are corn, sorghum, and oats and peas mixed. The 
grain crops used in rotations of this nature should be those 
that produce seeds rich in proteids (nitrogenous matter), so 
that the feeder may have cheap proteid feed available to 
balance the food nutrients of the ensilage and soiling crops, 
and thus produce the food ration most desirable for milk 
production. Clover or alfalfa hay should also be grown on 
a farm of this kind in order to produce some roughage that 
is rich in proteid nutrients. Annual pastures of catch crops 
such as rape or clover can be used, if desired, in some plans 
to provide pasture for young cattle and dry cows. 

In planning a rotation for a farm, where intensive dairy 
farming of this kind is to be practiced, the minor rotation 
close to the buildings would prove very useful, and should 
be used unless the farm area is small (80 acres or less). On 



156 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

very small farms all fields are so close to the buildings that 
the minor rotation becomes impractical and unnecessary, 
but, on comparatively larger farms, the minor rotation 
fields are very useful in providing pasture for young stock 
and hogs, and for growing soiling crops close to the feed 
lots, so as to affect economies in the time involved in 
feeding the soiling crop. 



■ 


■ 






Ml 


HH 


|H| 




^^% 


F^^P^^^H 












EB^^ -^ ^ 


^m 


m^^S* 


'^^^M 


■toy^^^^^ 


HhIIII 


HI 




'^^P 


^^^^^^^^^^^ 


1^^^^ 


9H^ 


WSSK3S^I^&yiii3i 




^^^^^^^^^^1^^^ 


1 


1 






^Bm 



Pliuto by cuiirtfsy "The Farmer ." 

Pigs pasturing in a field of oats and peas. Stioats grow fast on this feed 
during late summer and early autumn, and arrive at the final fattening period 
with good bone and muscle produced at small expense. 



In the accompanying diagrams, Nos. XX, XXI and XXII, 
three rotation plans are shown that illustrate methods for 
growing crops on farms without pasture lands, and for 
practicing intensive dairy farming, or other specialized form 
of animal husbandry, on high priced farm lands. 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 



157 



Diagram XX. Rotation ] 


;»lan without 


Pasture Lands for a 120 


Acre Farm. 




1. Corn 


1. Oats-peas 




1. 


Oats 


1. Clover 


2. Oats-peas 


2. Oats 


Buildings 


2. 


Clover 


2. Corn 


3. Oats 


3. Clover 




3. 


Corn 


3. Oats-peas 


4. Clover 


4. Corn 




4. 


Oats-peas 


4. Oats 




1. Corn 




1. Oats 




2. Oats 




2. Meadow 




3. Meadow 




3. Corn 




4. Corn 




4. Corn 


1. Corn 








2. Corn 








3. Oats 








4. Meadow 


1. Meadow 

2. Corn 

3. Corn 




- 




4. Oats 








- 



Note: These Diagrams, Nos. XX and XXI, show a 120 acre 
farm, all arable, divided into four large fields of about twenty-five 
acres each, for the major rotation, and four small fields of about four 
acres each, for a minor rotation. The minor rotation fields, are fenced 
with hog fencing so that each field may be used periodically for 
hog pasture. The large fields are also fenced so that stock can be 
pastured on meadow aftermath, catch crop pastm-es, and on the stub- 
ble fields. 

In Diagram XX the minor rotation consists of corn, oats and 
peas, oats, and clover. If desired, rape could be sown with the corn 
at its last cultivation to provide late autumn pasture for hogs and 
young stock. The corn crop can be used for summer soiling or al- 
lowed to mature and furnish feed in the field for fattening hogs. The 
oats and peas can be used for summer soiling or a portion of the crop 



158 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Diagram XXI. Rotation Plan without 


Pasture Lands for a 120 




Acre Farm. 






1. Corn 


1. Corn 




1. 


Oats 


1. Clover 


2. Corn 


2. Oats 


Buildings 


2. 


Clover 


2. Corn 


3. Oats 


3. Clover 




3. 


Corn 


3. Corn 


4. Clover 


4. Corn 




4. 


Corn 


4. Oats 




1. Oats-peas 




1. Oats 




2. Oats 




2. Meadow 




3. Meadow 




3. Corn 




4. Corn 




4. Oats-peas 


1. Corn 










2. Oats-peas 










3. Oats 










4. Meadow 


1. Meadow 

2. Corn 

3. Oats-peas 










4. Oats 











cured for winter forage. The oats are harvested and threshed. The 
clover crop, sown with the oats, furnishes pasture for brood sows, 
pigs and young stock. 

In Diagram XX, the major rotation consists of com, corn, oats 
and meadow. One crop of corn can be matured for grain, and the 
other used for summer soiling, ensilage and fodder corn. Rape, sown 
with this com crop, would furnish autumn pasture. The oats would 
be harvested and threshed for grain feed. The clover meadow would 
be cut for hay and the aftermath pastured. 

Diagram XXI is much the same as Diagram XX. The chief 
differences are that more corn is placed in the minor rotation to use 
for soiling and ensilage, and that a large field of peas and oats is in- 
cluded in the major rotation. This crop of oats and peas would fur- 
nish some summer soiling feed, but the main portion of the crop would 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 



159 



be allowed to mature to a point where pods were formed on the pea 
vines, and then the crop would be cut with a pea mower, cured in 
the field, and stored for winter forage. If desired, a portion of this 
pea and oat crop could be mixed with the corn silage and run into the 
silo. If desired, also, the pea and oat crop could be allowed to mature 
in the field, be cut and stacked, and the grain threshed out for feed. 
The oats in this rotation would be harvested and threshed for grain 
feed. The corn crop also would be matured for grain, except such 
portions as are needed to supplement the small fields of corn for en- 
silage and summer soihng. The clover meadow would be cut for hay 
and the aftermath pastured. 

Wherever the oat and pea crop can be handled satisfactorily for 
either grain or cured feed, the rotation plan of Diagram XXI is some- 
what preferable to the plan in Diagram XX, because a greater quan- 
tity of feed rich in protein is produced. The farm feeds produced 
in this rotation would make an almost perfect combination of food- 
stuffs for milk production. The feeder who had ensilage, clover hay, 
oats, and either pea grain or good pea hay, to draw on for feed supphes, 
would have a small bill for mill feeds. 

With rotations such as these, which include heavy yielding soiling 
and ensilage crops, clover hay, grain, and catch crop pastures, the 
dairyman can stock land, if he so desires, to its maximum capacity, 
and with heavy milking dairy cows this kind of farming will return 
satisfactory profits on very high priced land. 




Photo by courtesy "The Farmer. 
'Hogging off" corn saves labor and expense in the fattening of hogs. 



160 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Diagram XXII. Rotation Plan Without Pasture Lands for a 
120 Acre Farm. 



1. Corn 

2. Corn 

3. Oats 

4. Meadow 



1. Corn 

2. Oats 

3. Meadow 

4. Corn 



1. Oats 

2. Meadow 

3. Corn 

4. Corn 



Buildings 



Blue grass pasture 



Alfalfa pasture 



1. Meadow 

2. Corn 

3. Corn 

4. Oats 



Note: This rotation plan is mucn the same as the plans shown 
in Diagrams XX and XXI, with this difference: the minor rotation 
is eliminated and in its place two small fields of permanent blue grass 
and alfalfa pasture have been provided for hogs and calves. This 
permits a somewhat better arrangement of the large fields, and it also 
provides a plan requiring less labor. 

This plan does not provide quite as intensive a system of farming as 
the plans in Diagram XX and XXI, but it effects some economies in labor 
and would, therefore, be preferable under certain farm conditions. 

Under this plan, ensilage would be the chief dependence for sum- 
mer feed. Annual catch crop and aftermath pastures could be used 
if desired. Crops would be handled by the same methods outlined 
in the note accompanying Diagrams XX and XXI. 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 161 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) Which type of rotation, the short or long cycle, is best adapted to 

the majority of the farms in your community? Why? 

(2) Which type of pasture is considered the most profitable in your 

community, the permanent or rotation pasture? Why? 

(3) Using your local costs for posts, wire and labor, what is the cost 

per rod of fencing an 80 acre field 160 rods long and 80 rods 
wide, with 4 inch cedar posts set 20 feet apart and with 3 strands 
of barbed wire, and including 4 braced gate posts as well as 4 
corner posts? What is the cost per rod with 4 inch cedar posts 
set 20 feet apart and with 35 inch woven wire and 1 strand of 
barbed wire? With steel posts 20 feet apart, 26 inch woven 
wire, and 2 strands of barbed wire? See page 479. 

(4) How many acres of pasture are necessary, on the average, in your 

community to pasture a mature cow or a steer? What is the 
annual cost of an acre of pasture in your community? (Calcu- 
late current interest on land investment, together with taxes, 
annual proportion of seed cost, and annual fence cost.) 

(5) What is the annual cost of an acre of pasture when land is worth 

$25.00, $50.00 $100.00, $150.00 and $200.00 per acre? 

(6) If 40 acres of land, valued at $100.00 per acre, will pasture twenty 

1,000 pound milk cows, averaging 20 lbs. of 4% milk daily for 
160 days, what is the profit per acre of pasture from the sale 
of milk, when butter fat is worth 30 cents per pound? 

(7) If dairy cows are summer fed on ensilage, corn, oats, and clover, 

on land valued at $100.00 per acre, is the net acre profit greater 
or less than when land is devoted to pasture for summer feed, 
assuming the flow of milk to be the same in either case? (To 
solve this problem the first step is to calculate a ration that will 
meet the requirements of the cows. See "Haecker Feeding 
Standards," page 473 of this book. Compute the ration for a 
1,000 pound cow yielding 20 pounds of 4% milk daily. De- 
termine the total amounts of silage, corn, oats, and clover, for 
feeding one cow 160 days — the pasture period. Determine the 
acres required to produce this amount of feed for one cow with 
average crop yields such as: silage 10 tons per acre; corn 50 bu. 
per acre; oats 40 bu. per acre; and clover 2}4 tons per acre. 
Determine the cost of producing this amount of feed for one 

11 



162 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

cow — see page 490 of this book — and reduce this cost to the 
basis of one acre. Determine the number of cows that can be 
supported on 40 acres of land for 160 days, when fed this 
ration, by dividing the total acres [40] by the number of acres 
required to produce the necessary feed for one cow.) 

With this data in hand the acre profit from pasture land and 
stall feeding in summer is easily computed. Calculate in each 
case the total amounts of butter fat produced for 160 days and 
the value of same; the cost of the pasture or the crops fed out; 
and the difference, when reduced to the net return per acre, 
will show the comparative acre profit. 

This problem is intended merely to show approximate re- 
turns per acre over and above the cost of feed. The cost of 
milking and interest on the value of the cows would enter into 
the problem if an exact comparison were made. 

(This problem is taken from Circular 5, Cost Accounting Section, Division of 
Farm Management, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.) 

(8) Draw a series of plans, covering the period of time necessary, 
that will illustrate the reorganization of an old farm and the 
establishment of systematic crop rotation. The basis of these 
plans should be the diagram of your home farm or other farm 
you are familiar with, as referred to in question (5), Part II, 
Chapter V. Carefully study the reorganization plans shown 
in Part II, Chapter V to note all facts that must be taken 
into consideration. In choosing the crops to be grown and 
in making the rotation plan, consider the personal preferences 
of the farm manager, the character of the soil, the cUmate, 
the topography of the land, and the markets. 

These plans should be in detail and should show all steps 
necessary to establish the perfected scheme of cropping. 
Estimate the costs of the reorganization work, such as fencing 
or drainage. Estimate the total crop yields per year on the 
perfected plan, at average yields per acre, and show plans for 
the disposal of tht crops. Estimate the number of dairy cows, 
fat cattle, young cattle, swine, or sheep that the plan will sup- 
port or that it is your plan to feed on the farm. State what 
crops are to be "cash crops." In fact, project a concise plan 
of farm management on the basis of your perfected plan of 
cropping. 



PLANS AND DIAGRAMS 



163 



(9) What is the best type of plow to use in plowing under a heavy 
green manure crop? Give reasons. 
(10) Study the adjustment of a plow to secure best results when plow- 
ing under a green manure crop. Study the work of various 
kinds of coulters, the jointer and the drag chain. Learn to 
adjust the depth and width of cut so as to cover the crop 
perfectly. 




From Bulletin 125 Minn. Agr. Expt. Sta. 
Clover and timothy sod. Backset after a crop of flax. Note the amount of 
vegetable matter left to the soil from the roots and stubble. 



CHAPTER VII 
ROTATIONS FOR NORTH CENTRAL STATES 

General Statements about the Agriculture of the North 
Central States. The North Central states of the United 
States comprise Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, 
Miimesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, 
Nebraska and Kansas. This group of states is sometimes 
called the "Upper Mississippi Valley Region." With the 
exception of the Western portions of North Dakota, South 
Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska, these states are all within 
the humid climate zone, where rainfall is usually abundant 
for temperate zone plant life, and where the natural vegeta- 
tion on the prairies was the luxuriant growing forms of the 
prairie grasses. 

These states comprise the largest area of contiguous, 
productive plow lands in the United States. The greater 
part of the North American prairie, excepting the Canadian 
prairies, is within their boundaries. From these states comes 
the greater part of the corn, wheat, oats, barley, flax, and 
potato crops, as well as the bulk of the live stock products of 
the United States. The so-called "corn belt" of the United 
States is mainly within the boundaries of the North Central 
states. In fact, corn is the principal crop of Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas, and is grown 
extensively in all the other states in this region. Wheat is 
the other great staple crop of this region, being grown most 
extensively in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, 
Nebraska and Kansas. Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois 
are famous dairy states, and in all the states the dairy indus- 
try, with the grass and forage crops that accompany it, is on 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH CENTRAL STATES 165 

the increase. Cattle and swine feeding, accompanied by- 
intensive farming methods, is also one of the great agricul- 
tural industries. While these crops and industries are the 
chief agricultural enterprises of the North Central states, 
there are many other crops grown that produce large values 
in agricultural wealth. Potatoes, tobacco, sugar beets, 
alfalfa, clover and the various grass crops, beans, peas, buck- 
wheat, and small grains other than wheat, are grown in large 
quantities. 

Crop rotation is eminently adapted to this region of the 
United States. There is a great variety of crops to choose 
from in planning the rotations, and, furthermore, for a great 
majority of the farms, the mixed grain and live stock system 
of farming is the system best adapted to the soil, the climate, 
the markets, and the farm labor conditions. There are, of 
course, some conditions where truck farming, intensive dairy 
farming, extensive grain growing, cattle grazing, or other 
form of specialized agriculture, are more attractive to the 
farm manager than mixed grain and live stock farming, but 
the mixed type of farming is now, and probably always will 
be, the most popular system of farming. 

For these reasons the planning of crop lotations that will 
alternate the grain, grass, and cultivated crops, is compara- 
tively easy in the North Central states. Moreover, in the 
greater part of this region the fertility of the soil has not yet 
been reduced to such a low level by continuous, one crop 
farming as to make the extensive use of commercial fertilizers 
a necessity, as is the case in other parts of the United States. 
Systematic crop rotation, the use of green manures and live 
stock, with thorough tillage, will keep this agricultural region 
productive for many years to come, if followed before waste- 
ful methods of soil cultivation have proceeded as far as in 
some of the Atlantic Seaboard states. Crop rotation is 



366 



FIELD MANAGEMENT- AND CROP ROTATION 



needed on a majority of these farms to provide present 
and future productive soil conditions and to systematize 
the field work. 

The plaiming of crop rotations for the unirrigated lands 
in the semi-arid portions of Western Kansas, Nebraska, 
North Dakota, and South Dakota is a far more difficult 
problem than for regions having more abundant rainfall. In 
these regions the conservation of moisture is the chief prob- 
lem. Deep plowing, thorough harrowing, sub-surface pack- 
ing, and bare fallowing are the factors of crop production that 
must be chiefly considered. Controlling the moisture supply 
is the important agricultural problem. Grass crops are not 
as commonly grown as in the more humid sections of the 
North Central states. In many places brome grass is the 
only drouth resistant perennial grass that it is practical to 




Photo by courtesy "Farmer and Breeder." 
Cutting corn for the silo, or for separation into grain and fodder by the 
"corn iiusker and shredder." A common scene in the "corn belt" of the North 
Central states. 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH CENTRAL STATES 167 

seed, and it is difficult to secure profitable stands of clover, 
alfalfa, or other legume crops. Progress is being made in 
discovering and breeding varieties of alfalfa and vetches 
that are hardy and productive in these regions of scant rain- 
fall, but, nevertheless, the problem of growing productive 
grass crops in these regions is difficult. 

Practical and profitable agriculture in these regions is 
chiefly confined to the growing of fall sown grain crops, 
spring sown grain crops on deep, fall plowed land, or such 
cultivated crops as the drouth resisting sorghmns and Kafir 
corn. The most successful crops are quick growing annuals 
that can make their start on the stored up rain and snow 
water in the plowing, mature their seeds from the moisture 
that usually falls in spring and early summer, and ripen 
off before the dry, hot seasons of midsummer and late sum- 
mer. Pastures and meadows, not irrigated, will usually dry 
up in midsummer in these regions, and are, therefore, relative- 
ly unprofitable crops. 

For these reasons the problem of maintaining a humus 
equilibrium in the soils is indeed difficult. The natural 
supply of humus in those soils is small, and the bare fallows, 
cultivated crops, and grain crops soon exhaust it. The 
future will surely bring difficult soil fertility problems to 
these regions. At the present time these regions have not 
been cropped for many years, and the soils usually contain 
abundant supplies of available fertility. If enough moisture 
can be conserved for crop growth, the crops are good. But, 
with decreasing humus supplies, these soils will eventually 
become unproductive; for humus is the key that unlocks the 
plant food of the soil. 

Wherever the header can be used to harvest grain, instead 
of the binder, in these regions, the humus equilibrium can be 
maintained quite well by plowing under the straw portion 



168 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

of the crop. The difficulty with this practice is that the 
straw, when plowed under, lies between the furrow-slice and 
the subsoil and may cause the seed bed to dry out, because 
the seed bed is somewhat disconnected from the moisture 
of the subsoil. This difficulty, however, can be overcome 
by fall plowing, and, if necessary, by the use of a sub-surface 
packer or disk harrow with the disks set straight ahead, that 
is run over the land in the early spring. Green manure fallow 
can also be used in the place of bare fallow, and thus add 
occasional supplies of humus to the soil. Some of the hardy 
vetches are useful for this purpose. Brome grass sods are 
also a source of humus supply for the soils of these regions, 
but the amount of humus that can be turned under is com- 
paratively small. Hardy varieties of alfalfa will doubtlessly 
be developed sometime that will prove adapted to many 
areas where alfalfa is now an uncertain crop. 

Rotations for Small Grain Farming. Rotation plans for 
small grain farming have been quite thoroughly presented in 
Diagrams XI and XII and in the notes accompanying these 
diagrams. These plans are especially well adapted to those 
regions where the grain is all spring sown. They are also 
easily adapted to regions where wheat is autumn sown and 
where it is desired to make grain production the chief enter- 
prise of the farm. The rotation plan in Diagram XI, for ex- 
ample, could be modified easily for winter wheat production 
by planning to seed winter wheat in the corn of the first year 
of the rotation, seeding oats after the pasture in the sixth 
year, and in the autumn of the sixth year seeding winter 
wheat for the seventh year, 

A good short cycle rotation for the winter wheat regions 
of the North Central states is : 

1 — Corn (cover crop of soy beans). 

2 — Oats (fall sown wheat). 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH CENTRAL STATES 



169 



3 — Wheat (seed down to clover). 

4 — Clover meadow. 

This rotation is really better for mixed grain and live 
stock farming than for grain growing, as only one half the 
farm area is annually in grain; whereas, a long cycle rotation 
would provide a greater proportionate acreage of grain. 

In the southern part of the North Central states, where 
the most productive varieties of soybeans will mature, a good 
four-year rotation for grain growing farms is : 

1 — Corn (fall sown wheat) . 

2 — Wheat (fall sown wheat). 

3 — Wheat (green manure of clover or soy beans) . 

4 — Soy beans. 

All the crops of this rotation could be used as "money 
crops," if desired, and the green manure and soy beans would 
maintain the humus equilibrium and the available nitrogen 




Photo by courtesy "Breeders' Gazette." 
Soy beans grown for hay in Indiana. Yield 2}4 tons of cured forage per 
acre. The soy bean is a legume, or crop which gathers atmospheric nitrogen 
by means of the bacteria that attach themselves to its roots. 



170 FIELD MANAGE31ENT AND CROP ROTATION 

supply of the soil. In regions where soy beans are not 
profitable as a seed crop, Canadian field peas could be sub- 
stituted for the soy beans. 

In the Northern timbered areas of the North Central 
states, where corn is not always a dependable seed crop, but 
where winter rye, oats and buckwheat are the commonly 
used, dependable crops, the following rotation is useful : 

1 — Buckwheat (winter rye). 

2 — Rye (seed down to clover). 

3 — Clover meadow. 

4 — Oats (green manure catch crop with oats) . 

Rotations for Com Farming. Where it is desired to pro- 
duce the maximum amount of corn from the farm area, the 
rotation plan should have as high a proportionate acreage of 
corn and as low a proportionate acreage of grain and grass 
crops as possible, and yet permit the principles of crop rota- 
tion. If the farm area is large, the long cycle rotation, such 
as the one outlined in Diagram XI, can be used, with com 
predominating in the rotation instead of the small grains. 
If a corn growing rotation plan is made along the lines of 
Diagram XI, it should be remembered that, when many cul- 
tivated crops are introduced into the rotation, the decay and 
oxidation of humus will be comparatively rapid, and, there- 
fore, occasional green manure or cover crops should be used 
to maintain the humus equilibrium. 

A long cycle, seven-year rotation plan is given herewith to 
illustrate how corn production can be made to predominate 
in the rotation and yet the rotation be such as to correspond 
to the principles of crop rotation : 

1 — Corn (soy bean cover crop) . 

2 — Corn on spring plowing (green manure crop fall 
plowed). 

3 — Corn. 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH CENTRAL STATES 171 

4 — Oats on disked corn land (seed down to clover and 
timothy). 

5 — Meadow. 

6 — Pasture (broken up in autumn). 

7 — Corn (rape catch crop for autumn pasture, fall plowed). 

It may readily be seen how much better a system of 
cropping for corn production this plan is, as compared with 
the old system of permanent pasture with corn and oats 
alternated on the land not in grass, which made no pro- 
visions for the maintenance of humus and nitrogen. 

On farms not adapted to the long cycle rotation the fol- 
lowing plan is practical for corn production : 

1 — Corn (green manure crop fall plowed) . 

2— Corn. 

3 — Oats on disked corn land (seed down to clover). 

4 — Clover meadow, broken up in autumn. 

Rotation Plans for Potato or Sugar Beet Farming. In 
Diagram X a short cycle, four-year rotation plan is shown, 
that illustrates the best methods for rotating crops in order to 
make root crops the chief product of the farm. Another 
good rotation giving special consideration to roots is: 

1 — Potatoes or beets. 

2 — Oats or wheat (seed down to clover). 

3 — Clover meadow, first crop hay, second crop plowed 
under. 

The root crops can be introduced into rotations for mixed 
farming as follows: 

1— Corn. 

2 — Oats on disked corn land (green manure crop fall 
plowed) . 

3 — Potatoes or beets. 

4 — Wheat on disked potato land (seed down to clover) 

5 — Clover meadow, fall plowed. 



172 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Rotation Plans for Mixed Grain and Live Stock Farms. 
Rotation plans for this type of farming are shown in Diagrams 
XII and XIX that cover this subject quite thoroughly. 
This type of farming is usually followed in the North Central 
states on farms of 160 acres to 320 acres in size, and the prac- 
tical rotation is, therefore, a four, five or six-year rotation 
so planned as to provide an excess of grain or corn over 
what is necessary for the live stock enterprises. In fact the 
standard type of rotation is the five-year rotation: 

1— Com. 

2— Oats. 

3 — Wheat (seed down to grasses). 

4 — Meadow. 

5 — Pasture. 

This plan can be easily modified according to the desires 
of the farm manager. Where it is desired to make corn the 
chief money crop or the chief grain crop for stock food, two 
crops of corn can be grown in the rotation instead of two 
crops of small grain and one crop of corn, or, where it is 
desired to make small grains the chief money crops, the rota- 
tion is planned as in Diagram XII. Where permanent 
pasture is included in the farm area the plan shown in Dia- 
gram XIX is well adapted for mixed grain and live stock 
farming. 

Other rotations for mixed grain and live stock farming in 
the North Central states are: 

(a) 1 — Corn; 2 — Soy beans; 3 — Wheat (seed down to 

clover) ; 4 — Clover meadow, fall plowed. 

(b) 1 — Barley; 2 — Field peas; 3 — Wheat (seed down to 

clover) ; 4 — Clover meadow, fall plowed. 
Rotation Plans for Tobacco Fanning. Rotation plans to 
include tobacco should be modeled after the rotation plans 
where potatoes or sugar beets are the chief crop to be consid- 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH CENTRAL STATES 173 

ered in the rotation. Tobacco is classed as a cultivated crop 
in planning the rotation, the same as corn, potatoes or sugar 
beets. 

On relatively small, intensively managed farms, the short 
cycle rotation is best adapted to include tobacco and to pro- 
vide a practical rotation. Two short cycle rotation plans 
that include tobacco are given herewith : 

(a) 1 — Tobacco; 2 — Wheat (seed down to clover); 3 — 

Clover meadow, first crop, hay; second crop 
plowed under. 

(b) 1 — Tobacco (clover or rye cover crop) ; 2 — Tobacco; 

3— Wheat (seed down to clover); 4 — Clover 
meadow, first crop, hay; second crop plowed. 
On relatively large farms in the North Central states, 
practicing mixed grain and live stock farming, tobacco can be 




Photo by courtesy "Breeders' Cazcti:." 

Cutting soy beans with the binder and following with the wheat drill. Ro- 
tation of corn, soy beans, wheat and clover — a very practical rotation for the 
southern part of the North Central states. The soy beans lit the land well 
for wheat. 



174 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

introduced into the standard rotation along with other cul- 
tivated crops. If it is desired to grow a small field of tobacco 
each year as a money crop, this crop can be planted on a 
portion of that field in the rotation annually planned for 
corn, potatoes, or other cultivated crop. 

Rotation Plans for the Western, Semi-arid Areas of the 
North Central States. Wherever irrigation is practiced in the 
semi-arid portions of Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and 
North Dakota, rotations can, of course, be practiced that 
will include all the staple grain and forage crops of the 
Northern part of the Temperate Zone, such as corn, wheat, 
oats, potatoes, sugar beets, alfalfa, red clover, alsike clover 
and timothy, according to the rotation plans previously 
described for the North Central states. 

Many areas in the Western, semi-arid regions of these 
states, however, can never be put under ditch, and such 
agriculture as is practiced must depend on the natural rain- 
fall for moisture for crop growth. In many large areas of 
these regions the annual rainfall is sufficient for good crop 
growth, but hot winds and drouthy periods in midsummer cause 
rapid evaporation of soil moisture and destroy the growth 
of the common field crops of the North Temperate Zone. 
In recent times the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture has introduced a number of drouth resistant crops 
from Asia and Africa that are more drouth resistant than 
the common grain and forage crops of North America, and 
these crops are proving to be of great aid to successful agri- 
culture in these semi-arid regions. 

The crops best adapted to these regions of scant rainfall 
and occasional summer drouths are herewith enumerated: 

(1) Grain Crops. Durum wheat, awnless barley, sixty- 
day or Kherson oats, winter rye, emmer — sometimes called 
speltz, proso millet, Kafir corn, and durra. 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH CENTRAL STATES 175 

2) Forage Crops. Proso millet — sometimes called hog 
millet, common millet, Kafir corn, durra, field peas, sweet 
clover, Dakota vetch, brome grass, Sudan grass and dry- 
land varieties of alfalfa. 

(3) Cultivated Crops. Durra, Kafir corn, proso millet, 
and Indian corn in some places. 

(4) Green manure Crops. Dakota vetch, sweet clover, 
field peas, common millet. 

All of these crops are annuals with the exception of 
brome grass and alfalfa, which are perennials, and sweet 
clover, which is a biennial. 

When these crops are grown in these regions, and when 
deep plowing, thorough surface tillage, and occasional fal- 
lowing are practiced, good crops and profitable agriculture 
usually result. The grain crops, durum wheat, awnless 
barley, and emmer, are very much more resistant to drouth 
and hot winds than the bluestem and fife spring wheats and 
the malting barleys. The sixty-day, or Kherson oat, when 
sown early, makes its growth before the drouthy period of 
summer and thus avoids loss from drouth and hot winds. 
Similarly, winter rye starts early and matures before the 
period of crop danger. The durra and Kafir corn crops, 
introduced from Asia and Africa, have the power to resist 
a great amount of heat and drouth. They take the full 
growing season to mature, but, if the midsummer season is 
hot and dry, they have the power to remain dormant in 
growth and to start growth again with the coming of rain 
and cooler temperatures. Proso millet is also very drouth 
resistant and is an excellent substitute for corn in regions 
where corn is not a safe crop. The grain of either durra or 
proso millet is a nutritious stock food, and the yields are 
nearly as large as with corn — in fact, in semi-arid regions 
the yields are larger. These crops are also excellent forage 



176 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



crops, if cut at the proper stage of maturity and properly- 
cured. The proso millets, durra and Kafir corn, when 
grown for their seed value, are drilled or listed in rows 36 
inches to 42 inches apart and inter-tilled during the summer 
months. Summer inter-tillage is usually beneficial in con- 
serving moisture, and, for that reason, as well as the fact 
that these crops are naturally drouth resistant, they are 
exceptionally well adapted to many parts of the Western, 
semi-arid regions of the North Central states. 

The use of catch crops and green manure crops, included 
in rotations by the methods shown in rotation plans for the 
humid areas of the North Central states, is usually im- 
practical in these semi-arid regions. In most instances 





iikMi 


dM%UjJk.k 




m 


^B 




K^ 


j^^^MM 




i|^^ 


I^^^PHiP 



Pkotohy courtesy W. A. Carleton, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

Blackhull Kafir corn, a valuable grain and forage crop for dry land agriculture 

as far north as the northern line of Kansas. It requires 115-140 days to mature 

and yields from 25 to 75 bushels per acre of grain. It withstands drouth and 

hot winds much better than corn. 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH CENTRAL STATES 177 

there is not sufficient moisture to support more than one 
crop in a season. In fact, bare fallow is often practiced in 
these regions for the particular purpose of storing up an 
extra season's rainfall in the subsoil for the use of crops. 
Under these conditions green manuring, if practiced, must 
be done in the same manner as bare fallowing. That is to 
say, instead of including the green manure crop as a catch 
crop with the staple market crops, it must be sown and 
plowed under in a year when no other crop occupies the 
land. This can be done usually without difficulty and the 
crop gains in succeeding years will more than offset the 
costs for seed and tillage. In fact, the cost, in most in- 
stances, should be reckoned by a comparison with bare 
fallow, and thus the cost is merely a matter of seed and the 
labor of seeding. 

When green manure crops are thus introduced in the 
rotation it should be planned to fall plow in preparation 
for the green manure crop, and to sow the crop at the first 
opportunity in the spring. Sixty to seventy days from the 
time of seeding the crop can be plowed under during the 
latter part of June when the soil is moist enough for good 
plowing. Then, during the remainder of the season, the 
green manured field should be occasionally harrowed and 
treated the same as a bare fallow. Autumn rains falling 
on such land will readily sink into the subsoil, and the land 
will be in fine shape for the succeeding grain or forage crop. 
Canadian field peas, Dakota vetch and sweet clover are the 
best legume crops available for green manure crops handled 
in this manner. These crops start quickly from seed and 
make a rapid, luxuriant growth on a moderate amount of 
moisture. A thickly sown crop of common millet, early 
sown, and plowed under while green, is also a good green 
manure crop in these regions, although not as desirable as 

12 



178 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

a nitrogen gathering legume crop. Sweet clover, which is 
biennial in habit, and hardy in Northern temperate zone 
winters, can be sown in the fall for green manure purposes, 
if desired. The seed can be sown among cultivated crops 
in the early autumn and covered with a cultivator, or, if 
the cultivated crop has been removed from the land, the 
seed can be disked or harrowed in. With a moderate amount 
of fall rain the sweet clover will establish itself and make a 
heavy growth the succeeding spring. It can then be 
plowed under in early summer to enrich the land, the land 
being left fallow for the balance of the season as in case of 
the spring sown green manure crops. 

With the exception of brome grass and sweet clover 
there are no truly reliable meadow and pasture crops for this 
region of the North Central states, and even these generally 
become very short in midsummer. In many cases the stock- 
man in these regions must supplement the native range or 
the brome grass or sweet clover pasture with such forage 
crops as millet, Sudan grass, Kafir corn, vetches, sweet 
clover, and field peas, and must depend on these forage 
crops for winter feed instead of the red clover, alsike 
clover, alfalfa, and timothy of the regions having greater 
rainfall. 

Alfalfa is a dependable forage crop in some of these 
regions where the annual rainfall is sufficient for good crop 
growth, but where hot winds and summer drouth are ruinous 
to the ordinary forage crop. The alfalfa plant roots so 
deeply that, if once the crop is well established, it will with- 
stand a great amount of summer drouth. Wherever climatic 
conditions will permit the growth of alfalfa, it is pre- 
eminently the best meadow and pasture crop, and rotations 
with grain and cultivated crops can be made according to 
the plans of Diagram XVIII, using durum wheat, emmer. 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH CENTRAL STATES 179 

sixty day oats or winter rye for tlie grain crops, and Kafir 
corn, proso millet or durra for the cultivated crops. 

Sweet clover demands attention as a practical and prof- 
itable forage and pasture crop in these semi-arid regions 
of the North Central states. It catches easily, grows quickly, 
is very resistant to drouth and cold and its powerful tap- 
roots will penetrate the hardest of subsoils. Moreover, 
under very adverse conditions it produces abundant crops 
of hay and pasture. The hay crop must be cut very early, 
as the natural habit of the plant is to rapidly grow woody 
and tough after blossoming. If cut early, however, the 
forage is of excellent quality, has very little waste, and is 
very nearly as nutritious as alfalfa. As a pasture crop it is 
unexcelled in semi-arid regions; for it starts early, grows late 
in the autumn, withstands summer drouth, and will stand 
very close pasturing. It is also a wonderful seed crop, and 
will produce from four to twelve bushels of seed per acre. 
Its only drawback is, that sometimes it is not palatable to 
stock that are accustomed to timothy, alfalfa, clover, or 
other forage crops, and stock have to be starved to it. Starv- 
ing is not always necessary, but, when itoccurs,it discourages 
the use of the crop and gives it a bad name. In spite of all 
drawbacks, however, the crop is being extended rapidly in 
the semi-arid regions of the United States as a forage, pasture 
and green manure crop. It is a biennial crop and is intro- 
duced into rotations in the same manner as clover and 
timothy. Several methods of seeding can be employed. 
The seed can be sown with a nurse crop of grain in the 
spring; it can be sown in cultivated crops in the early 
autumn or after early maturing cultivated crops have 
come off the land in the autumn; or it can be sown in the 
spring without a nurse crop, — the choice depending on local 
conditions of climate and other crops included in the rotation. 



180 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

In the following paragraphs a number of rotations are 
suggested for grain farming and mixed grain and stock 
farming in these regions, that will alternate the crops best 
adapted to this region in a practical manner as regards 
moisture conservation, and also make some provision for 
maintaining a humus equilibrium in the soil. In these 
rotation plans the term "grain" is used to designate such 
crops as durum wheat, winter rye or wheat, emmer, awnless 
barley, or sixty day oats, the selection of these various 
grain crops to depend on local conditions and the desires 
of the farm manager. The term "green manure fallow," 
as used in these rotation plans, refers to such crops as Da- 
kota vetch, Canadian field peas, sweet clover, common 
millet, or Hungarian millet, plowed under in early summer 
and the land fallowed for the balance of the season. The 
term "cultivated crop," as used in these rotation plans, 
refers to such crops as Indian corn, Kafir corn, durra, and 
proso millet, the choice depending on local conditions and 
the desires of the farm manager. 

Grain Farming Rotations. 

(a) 1 — Grain; 2 — Grain; 3 — Green manure fallow; 

4 — Grain; 5 — Cultivated crop. 

(b) 1 — Grain; 2 — Green manure fallow; 3 — Grain; 4 — 

Grain. 

(c) 1 — Cultivated crop; 2 — Grain; 3 — Green manure 

fallow; 4 — Grain; 5 — Grain; 6 — Green manure 
fallow; 7 — Grain. 

(d) 1 — Cultivated crop; 2 — Grain; 3 — Green manure 

fallow; 4 — Grain; 5 — Green manure fallow. 

(e) 1 — Cultivated crop; 2 — Grain; 3 — Green manure 

fallow. 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH CENTRAL STATES 181 

Mixed Grain and Live Stock Rotations. 

(a) 1 — Grain; 2 — Brome grass; 3 — Brome grass; 4 — 

Cultivated crop; 5 — Green manure fallow; 6 — 
Grain. 

(b) 1 — Cultivated crop; 2 — Grain; 3 — Green manure 

fallow; 4 — Grain; 5 — Pea or vetch hay. 

(c) 1 — Cultivated crop; 2 — Grain; 3 — Pea or vetch hay; 

4 — Millet or Sudan grass hay; 5 — Grain; 6 — 
Green manure fallow. 

(d) Same plan as Diagram XVIII, with one field in 

permanent alfalfa, and a four year rotation on 
the balance of the land — the four year rotation 
as follows : 1 — Cultivated crop ; 2 — Green manure 
fallow; 3 — Grain; 4 — Cultivated crop. 

(e) 1 — Grain; 2 — Sweet clover; 3 — Cultivated crop. 

(f) 1 — Grain; 2 — Sweet clover; 3 — Cultivated crop; 

4 — Grain. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) What was the total production of corn in the United States in 1890, 

1900, 1910? Name the states in the United States where corn 
production increased markedly during the periods above men- 
tioned. What are the principal reasons for the extension of the 
American corn belt during these periods of time? See U. S. 
Census Reports. 

(2) What are the most important "cash crops" of the North Central 

states? 

(3) Prepare a table from the United States Census Reports that will 

show, in the order of their importance, the values produced by 
the various agricultural enterprises of the North Central states. 
What are some of the specialized, intensive types of agriculture 
pursued in the North Central states? 



182 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



(4) What is the average size of the farms in the North Central states? 

What per cent of the farm land area in these states is under cul- 
tivation? See U. S. Census Reports. 

(5) Are there any large areas of virgin land remaining in the North 

Central states? If so, where located? What crops and types of 
farming are best adapted to these new regions? See reports and 
bulletins U. S. Departments Interior and Agriculture. 

(6) Prepare diagrams and rotation plans for a fat cattle and grain farm; 

dairy, swine and potato farm; sheep and grain farm; intensive 
dairy farm; speciaHzed grain farm; speciahzed potato farm; and 
a specialized corn and swine farm; for the North Central states. 
Elaborate the rotations fully on the diagrams. Show plans for 
disposal of the crops, and estimate the numbers of live stock that 
can be supported with average crop yields. 

(7) Work out a rotation plan and a scheme of farming adapted to the 

upbuilding of sandy soil. 




Courtesy of Beaver Dam Mfg. Co. 
One-horse, five-disk, grain drill, by means of which winter wheat can be sown 
early between rows of standing corn. 



CHAPTER VIII 
ROTATIONS FOR NORTH ATLANTIC STATES 

General Statements about the Agriculture of the North 
Atlantic States. The North Atlantic states comprise Maine, 
New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 
This group of states, in a general way, is often called "The 
New England States." 

It was in the settlements and colonies of these states along 
the Atlantic Seaboard that North American agriculture had 
its beginning. Prior to the settlement of the Middle Western 
states the agriculture of the North Atlantic states was quite 
varied. All of the staple temperate zone crops were grown 
in considerable quantity, and the seaboard cities drew prac- 
tically all their food supplies from adjacent lands. But, with 
the settlement of the Western prairies, a change took place in 
the agriculture of the North Atlantic states. Wheat, flax, 
barley, ,oats and corn could be produced cheaper on the rich, 
virgin prairies of the Middle West than on the small fields 
of the New England valleys. The grain grower of the 
North Atlantic states could not easily compete with the 
grain grower on the Western prairie. And so agriculture 
suffered a change. To a large extent grain growing and live 
stock fattening were abandoned and dairying, tobacco 
growing, potato growing, truck farming, and poultry farming, 
came to be the chief agricultural enterprises of these 
states. The breeding of pure-bred live stock for breeding 
purposes also came to be a prominent feature of agricul- 
ture, when the Middle Western states began to monopolize 



184 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



the grain, corn, and fat stock production enterprises of 
American agriculture. 

These changes in the character of agriculture, caused 
by the development of the prairie lands of the Middle West, 
have been further accentuated by the development of 
manufacturing and shipping industries. The growth of 
great city populations in these states, dependent on manu- 
facturing for their support, has created an enormous demand 
for the perishable classes of agricultural products, such as 
milk, poultry, eggs, potatoes, fruits, and garden truck. 
Present day North Atlantic agriculture is mainly of a type 
to fill these demands for the perishable food products of 
agriculture used by city populations. In this type of agri- 
culture the farmer has an advantage over his competitors 
in the Middle West; for the largest of all the American 
city markets is right at his door, and he has the advantage 
of a comparatively low freight rate into this market. 

While wheat, rye, oats, barley and corn, are still grown 
to some extent in the North Atlantic states, they are most 




Photo by courtesy Pernnsylvania State College. 
A typical farm scene in the rolling hill lands of Pennsylvania. 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH ATLANTIC STATES 185 

commonly grown in connection with dairying, poultry farm- 
ing and live stock breeding farms, rather than for market 
crops. As a matter of fact, there is not enough grain and 
corn produced in these states to supply the needs of the 
dairy industry and other live stock industries, and large 
amounts of oats, barley, corn and mill feeds are imported 
from the Middle Western states. 

Dairy farming is the most common type of agriculture in 
the North Atlantic states. While it is almost universally 
practiced, it perhaps attains the highest development in 
New York. Wheat is still produced for market in some 
quantity in New York. Maine and New York are large 
producers of potatoes. Connecticut is famous for its tobacco, 
and tobacco is also a staple crop in portions of Pennsylvania. 
New Jersey is famous for its sweet potatoes and its truck 
farms. These are the chief crops and agricultural enter- 
prises of this group of states. Many of these states are 
large producers of tree and vine crops also, but such crops and 
industries do not enter into a discussion of field management 
and crop rotation. 

The meadow and pasture crops of the North Atlantic 
states are those that are common to all the Northern part 
of the Temperate Zone. Red clover, alsike clover, mammoth 
clover, white clover, timothy, redtop, blue grass and alfalfa, 
are the grass crops most widely cultivated. Permanent 
pastures of white clover and blue grass are more universally 
used than in the prairie areas of the Middle Western states, 
on account of the rough topography of the country that 
prevents many areas from being arable, and, therefore, 
prevents the use of the rotation pasture. 

The soils of the North Atlantic states, as a rule, were not 
as naturally fertile as the prairie and timber soils of the 
Mississippi Valley. Many a farm in this region has a 



186 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



shallow soil with a small percentage of humus, and derived 
from rock materials that were not rich in all the forms of 
mineral plant food. The majority of the Middle Western 
soils have water deposited soils or glacial debris soils in 
which, the soil particles were derived from a great varitey of 
rock materials, thus making the soils comparatively well 
balanced in the elements of plant food. But this desirable 
mixing of soil materials, and the sorting action of water, did 
not take place in the formation of a great part of the North 
Atlantic soils. There are several rich valley soil regions in 
these states, such as the Connecticut River Valley, and 
the Genessee Valley, but the average hillside or small valley 
farm was not blessed with as naturally a productive soil 
as the prairie areas and hardwood timber areas of the Middle 
Western states. 

In addition to this fact about the average soil of this 
region, there are many soil areas that have been tilled for 
two hundred years or more, and unscientific soil tillage has 
taken its toll of soil fertility in many places to a degree that 
has made many areas relatively unproductive, unless large 
amounts of commercial fertilizers are used. 




A modern dairy barn in New York State. 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH ATLANTIC STATES 187 

These facts about the agriculture of the North Atlantic 
states are given to show that the planning of crop rotations 
in this agricultural region of the United States is not as easy 
as in the prairie states of the Middle West. In many cases 
the specialized types of agriculture practiced do not easily 
lend themselves to rotation plans of cropping, and in other 
cases the soils need much special treatment and renovation 
to make them productive — work that is supplementary to 
ordinary crop rotation. Crop rotation and systematic field 
management, nevertheless, are as essential to the agriculture 
of these states, as a whole, as to the agriculture of the prairie 
regions of the United States, and there are many soil areas 
and conditions where crop rotation plans are easily made 
to systematize the prevailing types of farming. 

In the following paragraphs a number of rotation plans 
are shown for the North Atlantic states. 

Rotation Plans for Dairy Farming. The great majority 
of the dairy farms of the North Atlantic states are not 
adapted to the use of rotation pastures. In most cases 
either the permanent pasture is a necessity, on account of 
rough lands within the farm area, or the conditions of agri- 
culture are such that dairy farming is practiced without the 
use of pasture lands, as shown in Diagrams XX, XXI, and 
XXII, previously given. Where dairying is practiced in a 
very intensive manner and without the use of pasture lands, 
the plans shown in Diagrams XX, XXI, and XXII are as 
good as any that can be devised. With slight modifications, 
perhaps, these plans are adaptable to any of the North 
Atlantic states. 

Where the permanent pasture is to be used in connection 
with dairying, the following rotation plans are among the 
best that can be recommended for this region of the United 
States : 



188 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

(a) 1 — Corn for grain; 2 — Corn for silage; 3 — Oats and 

peas (seed down after harvest to clover and tim- 
othy); 4 — Meadow; 5 — Meadow. 

(b) 1 — Corn for grain; 2 — Corn for silage (grass seeds 

sown when corn is laid by); 3 — Meadow; 4 — 
Meadow. 

(c) 1 — Corn for silage (autumn rye cover crop); 2 — 

Corn for silage (autumn rye) ; 3 — Rye (seed down 
to clover and timothy) ; 4 — Meadow; 5 — Meadow. 

(d) 1 — Corn for silage; 2 — Oats and peas (seed down 

after harvest to clover and timothy) ; 3 — Meadow; 
4 — Meadow. 

(e) 1 — Corn for silage; 2 — Oats and peas (autumn rye) ; 

3 — Rye (seed down to clover) ; 4 — Meadow. 

Rotation Plans for Potato Farming. The same general 
principles for rotation plans that will make potatoes the chief 
marketable product of the farm that were outlined in Dia- 
gram X, are applicable to potato farming in the North 
Atlantic states. 

In some sections of these states a two-year rotation for 
potato farming is practiced that is an excellent plan where 
the chief business of the farm is potato growing. This 
rotation is as follows: 

1 — Potatoes (autumn rye) . 

2 — Rye (mammoth clover; green manure). 

The clover seed is harrowed in on the rye ground in the 
spring of the year and the clover crop plowed under in the 
autumn in preparation for potatoes. 

In New Jersey a common four-year rotation including 
sweet potatoes is as follows : 

1 — Corn (manured). 

2 — Sweet potatoes (autumn rye). 



ROTATIONS FOR NORTH ATLANTIC STATES 189 

3 — Rye (seeded to clover) . 

4 — Meadow. 

If desired, the proportionate acreage of potatoes in this 
rotation could be increased by eliminating the corn crop and 
substituting potatoes. In that event it would be a good 
plan to grow a cover crop of winter rye between the two crops 
of potatoes and plow under the foliage of this cover crop in 
the spring of the year. The manure in this latter rotation 
would be best applied as a top dressing on the meadow, or 
spread on the meadow land in the autumn and plowed under 
in preparation for the first crop of potatoes. 

Other rotation plans adapted to potato farming in the 
North Atlantic states are as follows: 

(a) 1 — Potatoes; 2 — Oats (seed down to clover); 3 — 

Clover meadow. 

(b) 1 — Potatoes: 2 — Corn; 3 — Oats and peas (seeded 

after harvest to clover) ; 4 — Clover meadow. 

(c) 1 — Potatoes (autumn rye) ; 2 — ^Rye (seed to clover) ; 

3 — Clover meadow. 

(d) 1 — Potatoes; 2 — Beans; 3 — Wheat (seed to clover); 

4 — Clover meadow. 

(e) 1 — Potatoes; 2 — Oats (seed to clover); 3 — Clover 

meadow; 4 — Com (seed to clover when corn is 
laid by) ; 5— Clover meadow. 

Rotation Plans for Tobacco Farming. Rotation plans for 
tobacco farming would be very similar to those for potato 
farming. 

In the tobacco growing districts of Connecticut a common- 
ly used rotation is the following : 

1 — Corn (autumn rye cover crop). 

2 — Tobacco. 

3 — Oats or wheat (seed to clover). 

4 — Clover meadow. 



190 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

In the tobacco districts of Pennsylvania the following 
rotation is quite commonly used : 

1— Tobacco. 

2— Oats. 

3 — Wheat (seed to clover) . 

4 — Clover meadow. 

On soils where the humus content and available nitrogen 
are low, this rotation could be improved by including a green 
manure crop in the year when oats occupied the land. 

Rotations for Mixed Grain and Live Stock Farming. The 
standard rotations for this type of farming, shown in Dia- 
grams IX, XII, and XIX, are well adapted to the North 
Atlantic states. Catch crops for annual supplementary 
pasture, green manure crops, or cover crops could be included 
to suit the desires of the farm manager by the methods 
shown in Diagrams XIV, XV, and XVI. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) Prepare a table from the United States Census Reports that will 

show, in the order of their importance, the values produced by 
the various agricultural enterprises of the North Atlantic states. 
What are some of the most important specialized, intensive 
types of agriculture pursued in the North Atlantic states? 

(2) What are the most important "cash crops" of the North Atlantic 

states? See U. S. Census Reports. 

(3) What is the average size of the farms in the North Atlantic states? 

What per cent of the farm land area in these states is under cul- 
tivation? See U. S. Census Reports. 

(41 Prepare diagrams and rotation plans that will fully illustrate plans 
for the following types of farming in the North Atlantic states : 
Dairy and swine farming with permanent pasture lands and with 
rotation pastures; intensive dairy and swine farming without 
pasture lands; specialized potato farm; specialized tobacco farm; 
and a specialized sheep breeding and sheep feeding farm. 

(5) Prepare a diagram that will fully illustrate a rotation plan to 
be the basis for renovating worn-out land in the North 
Atlantic states. 



CHAPTER IX 
ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES 

General Statements about the Agriculture of the South 
Atlantic States. The South Atlantic states of the United 
States comprise Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, 
Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Georgia and Florida. 

The greater part of the territory within the boundaries 
of these states has a mild temperate zone climate character- 
ized by a long growing season, a mild, open winter, and having 
an annual rainfall of forty to sixty inches that is well distrib- 
uted throughout the year. In the southernmost part of this 
region there are districts having semi-tropical climatic 
conditions, brought about by the warm waters of the Gulf 
Stream, Here many crops are grown that are not found in 
the Temperate Zone. With the exception of those small 
areas that have a semi-tropical climate, the South Atlantic 
states are naturally adapted to the growth of the same tem- 
perate zone crops as are found in the North Central and 
North Atlantic states, and the staple crops, in fact, are very 
similar. There are certain field crops, such as tobacco, 
cotton, rice, peanuts, and cowpeas, however, that are staple 
crops in this territory, that are not found in any great quan- 
tity in the North Central or North Atlantic states, while 
cotton and rice are peculiar to this territory and to the South 
Central states. Speaking of the South Atlantic states as a 
whole, it may be said that the climatic conditions are such 
as to favor the growth of a much greater variety of plant life 
than is possible in either the North Central or the North 
Atlantic states. 



192 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Agriculture has been pursued in some districts of the 
South Atlantic states for two hundred years or more. It is 
an old agricultural region as compared with the South Cen- 
tral, North Central and Western regions. The early settle- 
ments in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Carolina and 
Georgia, were all agricultural colonies. The colonists, de- 
pended almost entirley on tobacco, rice, other cereals, and 
live stock products, for their liveUhood, and, unlike those of 




Photo by courtesy Norfolk and Western Railway. 
A typical farm scene in Virginia. 

New England, engaged but little in fishing and shipbuilding. 
The early colonies in the South Atlantic states grew rapidly 
on the agricultural resources of the country, and agriculture 
developed more rapidly and more extensively than in the 
New England colonies. 

Great plantations developed where tobacco, corn, wheat, 
potatoes, rice and cotton, were produced in quantity for 
export, and where much live stock was fattened on the native 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES 193 

blue grass pastures. The agriculture of the South Atlantic 
states from 1800 to 1860 was of a high order. The planta- 
tions and estates were mainly under the management of an 
intelligent class of people who lived on the land, and who 
farmed it carefully and with consideration for its future 
productivity. The agricultural writings of this early period 
show that the Virginia, Carolina and Georgia planters under- 
stood the value of good tillage, the handling of manures, and 
the benefits of crop rotation, and that they farmed in a 
manner that was in accord with much of our modern knowl- 
edge of agriculture and soil fertility. 

The Civil War of 1861 to 1865 gave the agriculture of 
the South Atlantic states a serious setback. Many of the 
leading planters and landowners lost their lives in the war, 
otliere lost their lands, and to others the reconstruction period 
following the war brought discouragements that precluded 
the carrying on of such agriculture as was possible in the 
ante-bellum days. Then, too, the rapid and wonderful 
development of the Middle Western prairies gave the agri- 
culture of the South Atlantic states a setback. Business 
was dull, many young men went West, political and labor 
conditions were unsettled, the old men were unready to meet 
the changed conditions, and so agriculture in the South 
Atlantic states suffered a decline from which it has not yet 
wholly recovered. 

For fifty years following the Civil War, in parts of the 
South Atlantic states, the almost continuous growth of cotton 
on certain soil areas, often under a tenant system of farming, 
has been an important factor in making many soil areas of 
the South Atlantic states relatively unproductive. This 
system of farming encouraged shiftlessness and poor farming 
methods. The continuous growth of cotton without the 
use of green manure crops, or alternation with pasture and 

13 



194 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

meadow crops, lowered the humus content of the soil, 
checked the continuous liberation of plant food within the 
soil, assisted soil washing 'and the leaching of soluble plant 
food, and eventually made the use of commercial fertilizers 
a necessity in many places. 

The climatic conditions of the South Atlantic states tend 
to waste the fertility of the soil, when it is cultivated, to a 
greater extent than in the Northern part of the Temperate 
Zone. In the Northern part of the Temperate Zone the soil 
is frozen solid for four to six months in the year, and there is 
but small opportunity for erosion, soil washing, and the 
leaching away of soluble plant food during the seasons when 
the land is not occupied by growing crops. In the South 
Atlantic states, however, the growing season is much longer 
and the winter seasons are mild and open, with frequent 
changes of temperature, and with winter rains and melting 
snows that run over the plow land to wash the soil and to 
carry off portions of the soluble plant food. 

The combined effect of all these conditions, which have 
influenced the agriculture of the South Atlantic states, has 
been to impoverish many soil areas, and to necessitate the 
extensive use of commercial fertilizers. This condition, of 
course, is true of but a portion of the land in the South Atlan- 
tic states; for there is considerable rich, virgin land still to be 
put into cultivation in this territory, and there are also 
many areas of deep, rich bottom land along the streams and 
tidewater flats that are very fertile. The South Atlantic 
states, by reason of their mild climate, plentiful rainfall, 
proximity to great markets, and general adaptability to the 
growth of a great variety of field, garden, and tree crops, 
comprise one of the very best agricultural regions of the 
United States. Agricultural progress has been tardy since 
the Civil War on account of the political, economic and social 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES 195 

conditions that have retarded all business in the Southern 
states; but in more recent years the real agricultural possi- 
bilities of the South Atlantic states have become realized, and 
conditions are changing that will make for a better and more 
permanent system of farming. 

The greatest agricultural needs of the South Atlantic 
states are: (1) Deep plowing and thorough tillage; (2) Cover 
crops to protect land from erosion between regular crop 
seasons; (3) Increase of the soil's supply of humus by means 
of crop rotation and green manures; (4) Systems of mixed 
farming wherein the staple cash crops, such as cotton and 
tobacco, shall be alternated with forage crops fed to live 
stock, and the manure returned to the land; (5) Soil amend- 
ment, when necessary, with cheap, ground phosphate rock 
and potash salts in place of the indiscriminate use of the 
"complete commercial fertilizer." 

Undoubtedly there are many soil areas in the South 
Atlantic states that have become so impoverished as to need 
heavy applications of commercial fertilizers and much special 
treatment to amend plant food deficiencies and to thus make 
them truly productive; but, generally speaking, the use of 
thorough tillage methods, green manures, cover crops, and 
crop rotation systems that shall include forage crops fed to 
live stock, is what is mainly needed to renovate the old soil 
areas and make the agriculture of the South Atlantic states 
permanently productive and profitable. The comparatively 
recent introduction of the cowpea, soy bean, and crimson 
clover crops into these states has worked wonders in raising 
the productivity of the cotton and tobacco lands wherever an 
intelligent use of these crops has been made in rotation with 
tobacco and cotton. Cover crops of crimson clover, or green 
manure crops of cowpeas, are easily introduced into rotations 
of staple crops in the mild climate of the South, and the 



196 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



favorable effect on staple crop yields is very marked. The 
cowpea is pre-eminently the great legume, soil building crop 




Fholo by courtesy " Frogressive Farmer." 

A "catch crop" of soy beans sown with corn at the last cultivation in the 
South Atlantic states. The soy beans may be utilized for annual pasture, 
for a winter cover crop, or for green manure. 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES 197 

of the South, and is not only valuable as a green manure 
crop but also as a forage or seed crop. 

The present day agriculture of the South Atlantic states 
is generally of a mixed type, although many large areas are 
given over to the almost continuous culture of special crops. 
With the exception of South Carolina and Georgia, live stock 
and dairying are the leading farm enterprises. Cotton leads 
all other farm enterprises in South Carolina and Georgia, 
with live stock and dairying ranking second. Cereals and 
forage crops are the leading crops in all states except South 
Carolina, Georgia and Florida, cotton leading in South 
Carolina and Georgia, and vegetable crops leading in Florida. 
Tobacco is a prominent field crop in Maryland, Virginia and 
North Carolina, and is produced in all the states of this group. 
Rice is a prominent crop in North Carolina, South Carolina 
and Georgia. Sugar cane is prominent in the Carolinas. 
Truck crops are very important in Delaware, Maryland and 
Florida. Other crops commonly grown in this territory are: 
corn, wheat, oats, buckwheat, rye, Irish potatoes, sweet 
potatoes, peanuts, cowpeas, soy beans, vetches, red clover, 
alsike clover, crimson clover, alfalfa, timothy, blue grass, 
Bermuda grass, and Johnson grass. 

In the following paragraphs a number of rotation plans 
are shown for the South Atlantic states that are intended for 
dairy and general live stock farming, mixed farming with 
cotton and tobacco as the "money crops," and rotation plans 
intended to give consideration to special crops. 

Rotation Plans for Live Stock Farming The permanent 
pasture of blue grass, Bermuda grass, or Johnson grass, is 
more commonly the rule in the South Atlantic states than the 
rotation pasture of red clover and timothy. For this reason 
rotation plans for live stock farming in this region should be 
modeled, in most cases, after the plan shown in Diagram 



198 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

XIX, using green manure and cover crops to maintain the 
humus equilibrium of the cultivated lands of the farm. The 
rotation plans given herewith are planned in connection with 
permanent pasture lands, and are adapted to dairy farming 
or general live stock farming. 

(a) 1 — Corn (crimson clover sown in corn in autumn; 

2 — Crimson clover for seed, volunteer crop plowed 
under in autumn, (wheat sown in autumn); 3 — 
Wheat (clover and timothy) ; 4 — Meadow. 

(b) 1 — Corn silage (crimson clover sown in corn in 

autumn) ; 2 — Clover hay, sod plowed, corn silage 
(crimson clover sown in corn in autumn); 3 — 
Clover hay, sod plowed, cowpea hay (wheat 
sown late autumn); 4 — Wheat. 

(c) 1 — Corn and cowpeas (crimson clover sown at last 

cultivation for cover crop and green manure); 
2 — Crimson clover plowed under, cowpeas for hay 
(wheat); 3 — Wheat (clover and timothy); 4 — 
Meadow. 

(d) 1 — Corn (crimson clover cover crop and green 

manure); 2 — Crimson clover plowed under, soy 
beans (wheat in autumn) ; 3 — Wheat (red clover) ; 
4 — Meadow. 

(e) 1 — Com (winter oats); 2 — Oats (red clover); 3 — 

Meadow; 4 — Cowpeas for hay (wheat); 5 — Wheat 
(crimson clover cover crop and green manure). 
Rotation Plans for Mixed Grain and Live Stock Farms. 

(a) 1 — Corn (wheat) ; 2 — Wheat, cowpeas green manure 

(wheat) ; 3 — Wheat (red clover) ; 4 — Meadow. 

(b) 1 — Corn (crimson clover cover crop and green 

manure); 2 — Corn (wheat); 3 — Wheat (winter 
oats) ; 4 — Oats (red clover) ; 5 — Meadow. 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES 



199 



(c) 1 — Corn (wheat); 2 — Wheat (crimson clover); 3 — 
Clover green manure (wheat) ; 4 — Wheat. 

Rotation Plans for Tobacco Farming. These plans are 
intended to give prominence to tobacco as the "money crop" 
of the farm, but, in order to make a successful rotation, a 
portion of the rotation should be devoted to crops fed to 
live stock. Several plans are given herewith, some necessi- 
tating live stock to make use of the forage crops, and others 
depending on green manure crops alone to keep up the humus 
supply of the soil. 

(a) 1 — Tobacco (wheat); 2— Wheat (red clover); 3 — 

Meadow. 

(b) 1— Tobacco (wheat) ; 2 — Wheat, followed by cowpea 

green manure. 




Photo by courtesy "Progressive Farmer." 
Tobacco is an important "cultivated crop" in the South Atlantic states. 
Under intensive methods of cultivation tobacco will yield values of $100.00 
to $300.00 per acre. 



200 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

(c) 1 — Tobacco (wheat); 2 — Wheat (red clover); 3 — 
Meadow ; 4 — Corn with cowpeas. 

Rotation Plans for Cotton Farming. These plans are 
similar to the plans for tobacco farming in that one crop is 
given prominence in the rotation, and the maintenance of the 
soil's supply of humus is dependent on the use of green 
manure crops, or forage crops fed to live stock, or both. 

(a) 1 — Cotton (crimson clover cover crop and green 

manure) ; 2 — Corn with cowpeas. 

(b) 1 — Cotton (crimson clover cover crop and green 

manure); 2 — Corn (wheat); 3 — Wheat followed 
by cowpeas. 

(c) 1 — Corn with cowpeas (winter oats); 2 — Oats fol- 

lowed by cowpeas; 3 — Cotton. 

(d) 1 — Corn with cowpeas (winter Oats) ; 2 — Oats with 

cowpeas (winter oats); 3 — Oats with cowpeas; 
4 — Cotton. 

(e) 1 — Corn with cowpeas; 2 — Peanuts; 3 — Cotton. 

Rotation Plans, Miscellaneous Crops. 

(a) 1 — Potatoes (corn) ; 2 — Oats, followed by cowpeas. 

(b) 1 — Corn (crimson clover cover crop and green 

manure); 2 — Peanuts. 

(c) 1 — Corn with cowpeas (wheat) ; 2 — Wheat (crimson 

clover cover crop and green manure). 

(d) 1 — Corn with cowpeas (winter oats); 2 — Oats (red 

clover); 3 — Meadow; 4 — Potatoes. 

(e) 1 — Corn (crimson clover cover crop and green 

manure); 2 — Peanuts; 3 — Oats with cowpeas; 
4 — Peanuts. 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES 



201 




Photo by courtesy "Progressive Farmer.'" 
Peanuts are an important "cash crop" in the South Atlantic states. They 
are also a fine forage crop, being as productive and nutritious as clover. Hogs 
can be fattened on the crop in the field. The peanut i.s a legume and there- 
fore capable of utilizing atmospheric nitrogen by means of the nitrogen gather- 
ing bacteria. 

Rotation Plans for Rice Farming. Rice is more often 
grown continuously than in rotation with other crops, but as 
rice lands are alluvial, deep, bottom lands, the effects of 
continuous cropping are not as noticeable as in the case of 
wheat, corn, cotton or tobacco. Modern rice farmers, how- 
ever, are taking cognizance of the benefits to be derived from 
crop rotation, and where levees are so constructed as to insure 
perfect water control, it is profitable to occasionally keep the 
water off the land and to grow crops other than rice. A 
rotation plan sometimes used by the rice farmers of the South 
Atlantic states is the following : 

1 — Rice; 2 — Rice; 3 — Rice; 4 — Fallow; 5 — Corn fol- 
lowed by a pea or bean green manure. 



202 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) Prepare a table from the United States Census Reports that will 

show, in the order of their importance, the values produced by 
the various agricultural enterprises of the South Atlantic states. 
What are some of the most important specialized, intensive 
types of agriculture pursued in the South Atlantic states? 

(2) What are the important "cash crops" of the South Atlantic states? 

See U. S. Census Reports. 

(3) What is the average size of the farms in the South Atlantic states? 

What per cent of the farm land area in these states is under cul- 
tivation? See U. S. Census Reports. 

(4) Are there any large areas of virgin land remaining in the South 

Atlantic states? If so, where located? What crops and types 
of farming are best adapted to these new regions? See reports 
and bulletins U. S. Departments Interior and Agriculture. 

(5) Prepare diagrams that will fully illustrate practical rotation plans 

for the following types of farming in the South Atlantic states: 
Dairy and swine farming with permanent pasture lands, or, fat 
cattle and swine farming with permanent pasture lands; same 
types of farming without pasture lands; diversified farming with 
rotation pastures producing grain, corn, tobacco and live stock; 
specialized tobacco farm; specialized potato farm; specialized 
cotton farm; specialized rice farm; diversified farm with cotton 
as the "cash crop" and with all other crops fed to cattle and 
swine. 

(6) Prepare a diagram that wiU fully illustrate a rotation plan including 

cover crops and green manure crops, to be the basis for renovat- 
ing worn out land in the South Atlantic states. 



CHAPTER X 
ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL STATES 

General Statements about the Agriculture of the South 
Central States. The South Central states of the United 
States comprise Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, 
Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. 

The climatic conditions within this territory are far from 
being uniform. Factors causing great climatic variation in 
this region are: (1) altitude of the various agricultural regions, 
(2) influence of the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on 
air temperatures, and (3) the proximity of the Western por- 
tions of Oklahoma and Texas to the rainless, desert areas of 
the North American continent. It is impossible, in fact, to 
give an accurate general description of the climate of the 
South Central states. Texas, for example, has humid, arid, 
semi-arid, semi-tropical, mild temperate zone, and cold 
temperate zone climates within its boundaries. In the 
mountain regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas, 
the climate is quite similar to that of the central part of the 
North Central states, and very dissimilar to the warm, humid 
climate that exists in the areas of low altitude within this 
territory. In the Northwestern areas of Texas and Okla- 
homa the winter season is cold and prolonged, being some- 
what similar to the winters of the Western areas of the North 
Central states, while in Southeastern Texas, Southern Louis- 
iana, and Southern Mississippi, multiple cropping can be 
practiced the year around. 

While there are great climatic variations within the ter- 
ritory of the South Central states, the greater part of those 
areas best suited to agriculture has a very mild temperate 



204 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

zone climate, almost semi-tropical in nature, except for 
winter frosts and the short winter season. The growing 
seasons are long, the winters short and mild, the mean tem- 
perature during the growing season comparatively high, and 
the rainfall abundant for crop growth. Scant rainfall in West- 
ern Texas and Oklahoma necessitates the employment of "dry 
farming" crops and methods of agriculture, or irrigation in 
some places where water is obtainable. On the whole, how- 
ever, the practice of agriculture in the South Central states is 
greatly favored by abundant rainfall and temperatures 
favorable to the growth of a great variety of temperate zone 
plants, as well as many semi-tropical plants. 

The so-called "cotton belt" of North America is mainly 
within the boundaries of the South Central states. Cotton 
can be profitably grown in every one of the states that com- 
prise this group', and is an important staple crop in all the 
states of this group except Kentucky and Tennessee. In 
fact, cotton growing, shipping, ginning, and spinning are the 
characteristic and outstanding features of business in the 
South Central states. Tobacco, corn, oats, wheat, and 
many other temperate zone crops are grown in quantity on 
the farms of this region, also much live stock is pastured and 
fed, but cotton is the prominent feature of agriculture in the 
South Central states. 

Another conspicuous feature of agriculture in this region 
is the large area of fertile, alluvial soil along the Mississippi 
River and its tributaries. These soil areas are of great extent 
and have a deep, rich soil of very great fertility. These soils 
are composed of the silt and organic matter carried by the 
Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Colorado, Tennessee, Red, and 
Arkansas rivers, from watersheds that comprise the most 
extensive soil areas of the United States. In times of flood 
the turbid waters with their load of soil materials would 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL STATES 



205 




206 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

spread out from the main channel over these bottom lands 
and deposit fresh layers of soil materials brought in from far 
distant watersheds. Through ages past this process grad- 
ually built up great soil areas of wonderful richness and last- 
ing quality, and when the South Central states were first 
settled, these alluvial river lands were the first developed and 
put under plow. 

Danger from recurrent floods was guarded against by the 
construction of huge levees and dikes to keep the river in its 
channel. The amount of sediment annually carried to the 
Gulf of Mexico by the Mississippi River and its tributaries 
is so enormous, however, that deposits are constantly being 
made within the river channel, thereby raising the bed 
till the problem of confining the river to a definite channel 
becomes ever more difficult. In many places the river 
channel, at low water stage, is above the level of the surround- 
ing lands, and thus, when floods occur, the man made levees 
are not always strong enough to retain the water, and levees 
break to permit huge floods of water to spread out over the 
bottom lands as they did before man occupied the land and 
built levees behind which he could build towns, railways, 
and farm buildings. Flood danger is a very conspicuous 
feature of much of the agriculture of the South Central states. 

Agriculture in the South Central states, as practiced com- 
mercially by the white man, does not date back as early in 
the history of North America as the agriculture of the North 
Atlantic and the South Atlantic states. Agriculture had 
become quite extensive and well developed in the South 
Atlantic and North Atlantic colonies before any commercial 
agriculture came into existence in the South Central states. 
The early Spanish colonies along the Gulf Coast engaged but 
little in agriculture, and the Indians and Mexicans of the 
early days were not agriculturists that subdued much land. 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL STATES 207 




Photo by courtesy St. Louis Southwestern Railway. 

Irrigation ditches and dikes for rice irrigation. Rice is sown with the grain 

drill on a comparatively dry seed bed, the same as wheat or oats. After seeding 

time the land is flooded from time to time to provide the proper amount of water 

for the crop's growth. 

The development of commercial agriculture did not come in 
the South Central states until the tide of emigration from the 
seaboard English speaking colonies began soon after the 
War of the Revolution. 

Kentucky and Tennessee absorbed the first landseekers 
who came over the Alleghenies from the seaboard colonies, 
and then in later decades the landseekers swept on to Missis- 
sippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, and even to Texas 
territory then under Mexican government. The water- 
courses facilitated transportation, and colonization was rapid 
in the early part of the nineteenth century. By 1840 a con- 
siderable export trade in cotton and tobacco had developed 
in the South Central states, the producing lands being chiefly 
the bottom lands of the main watercourses. Some agricul- 



208 FIELD MANAGE3IENT AND CROP ROTATION 

ture developed from the Spanish settlements along the Gulf 
Coast, but it was the energetic Anglo-Saxon from the sea- 
board states that established most of the agriculture in the 
South Central states. 

The agriculture of the South Central states, therefore, is 
not nearly so old as that of the South Atlantic and the North 
Atlantic states, and few areas have been cultivated one hun- 
dred years or more. Such agriculture as does date back one 
hundred years is confined to a relatively small portion of the 
South Central states, and many agricultural areas, such as 
the prairie areas of Texas, Oklahoma, and Indian Territory, 
have been under cultivation only since 1890 to 1900, during 
which time a distinct and heavy emigration began from the 
North Central states into these regions of the South, Com- 
pared with the agriculture of the South Atlantic, North 
Atlantic, North Central, and Western Divisions of the United 
States, the agriculture of the South Central states is some- 
what older than in the Western and North Central divisions, 
and more recent in development than the agriculture of the 
South Atlantic and North Atlantic divisions. 

As a result of the great natural fertility of many soil areas 
in this division of the United States, and of the comparatively 
recent development of agriculture, the percentage of impov- 
erished land in this part is not so great as in either the South 
Atlantic or the North Atlantic states, and such soils as are 
somewhat unproductive on account of hard usage in the past, 
are usually made productive very easily by a rapid increase 
in the soil's supply of humus and by more thorough soil 
tillage. 

Agriculture in the South Central states has been in- 
fluenced by many of the same climatic, political, economic, 
and social conditions that were important factors in molding 
the agriculture of the South Atlantic states. The mild, open 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL STATES 



209 




Photo by courtesy St. Louis Southwestern Railway. 
Harvesting rice with the grain binder. Prior to harvest the water is drawn 
off the land and the crop is cut, shoclied and threshed by the same methods 
as are used for wheat and oats. 

winters, for example, with changing temperatures, melting 
snows, prolonged rains, tend to waste soil fertility through 
erosion and the leaching of soluble plant food, especially on 
upland, rolling lands. Unless some of the soil areas in this 
climate are safeguarded from erosion and the leaching of 
soluble plant food by crop rotation, cover crops, and green 
manures, a noticeable loss in soil fertility may result. Many 
soil areas in the South Central states have undoubtedly 
suffered in this respect; for they have been subjected to much 
continuous cropping to cultivated crops, such as corn and 
cotton, that leave the land unprotected against the elements 
that cause erosion and the leaching away of soluble plant 
food. As a result some soil areas in this region are impover- 
ished, and need crop rotation, cover crops, green manures, 
and fertilizer amendments to build them up to a state of 
high productivity. 

Furthermore, the Civil War and the period of reconstruc- 
tion following the war made a distinct impression on the 



14 



210 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



agriculture of the South Central states that must be taken 
into consideration in studying agricultural conditions in the 
South Central states. Prior to the Civil War the staple 
crops of the South Central states, cotton, tobacco, corn, and 
rice, were chiefly grown on the large plantation or estate 
under the management of the intelligent and skilled planter, 
who made the plantation his home, and who gave much 
personal attention to the work of growing crops. Farm 
labor was largely performed by negro slaves working under 
overseers. From an economic point of view, the sytem was 
successful. Good crops were produced, the planters were 
usually skilled in the art of agriculture, consideration was 
given to the maintenance of fertility and the farm manager 
planned for the upkeep of the land that provided him with 
his home and his business. But the Civil War caused some 




Photo by courtesy St. Louis Southwestern Railway. 
Pumping water for rice irrigation in Arkansas. 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL STATES 211 

very radical changes in the agriculture of the South Central 
states. Many planters never returned from the war; to 
others who survived the war, the war brought bankruptcy; 
and still others were helpless, under the conditions of the 
reconstruction period, and with free negro labor, to pursue 
the agriculture to which they were accustomed. For a time 
agriculture was at a standstill. Fields were idle and fallow. 
The landowner with his large plantation knew not how to 
sow and reap the crops under the new and changed conditions, 
and the negro laborer was as nonplused as the planter. Out 
of this chaos in the agriculture of the South Central states 
there gradually emerged a new system of agriculture wherein 
much tenant farming replaced the large plantation. The 
negro laborer became a tenant farmer on a small tract of 
land. Some of the old plantations remained intact, and, also, 
many Northern farmers came South to operate small farms; 
but, nevertheless, large areas of land went under a tenant 
system of farming wherein the tenant was generally unskilled, 
shiftless, and poorly versed in the art of agriculture. 

Very naturally these conditions caused a decline in the 
agriculture of this region. Agricultural progress in many 
regions of the South Central states has been remarkably slow 
in the past fifty years as compared with progress in the North 
Central states. Modern agricultural machinery has not 
come into universal use and the methods employed in tilling 
the soil and in growing crops are often antiquated and ill 
suited to secure the best results. Continuous cotton and 
corn culture, accompanied by soil erosion and the leaching 
of soluble plant food, have impoverished many soil areas so 
badly that the crop is no longer profitable to either tenant or 
landlord. Experience has shown, however, that the majority 
of these impoverished soil areas are easily renovated and made 
productive. The average soil area of this region is naturally 



212 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

fertile, and unproductivity of the soil can usually be traced to 
a poor physical condition, lack of a sufficient supply of humus, 
and to the unavailability of the elements of plant food — 
conditions that are all easily remedied. 

What has been said in previous paragraphs in regard to 
impoverished soil areas, negro tenant farming, and lack of 
progress in the agriculture of the South Central states, is not 
applicable by any means to the whole area included in these 
states. As a whole, the area is a wonderfully rich agricul- 
tural region, still containing much rich virgin prairie and 
timber land and having developed areas that are farmed by 
modern methods and with the most modern types of ma- 
chinery. The agriculture on the Oklahoma and Texas 
prairie, the rice farming in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana, 
the tobacco farming and horse breeding in Kentucky, the 
fine alfalfa fields and the fat stock in parts of all these states, 
and the skillful truck and fruit farming of favored districts 
in this territory, all bear witness to agricultural progress and 
successful types of agriculture. The South Central states 
have some areas that past influences have made backward in 
agricultural progress and where land is impoverished and 
unproductive; but, on the other hand, there are many pro- 
gressive districts practicing up-to-date agriculture, and there 
is much virgin land still available for the staple crops of the 
South, namely, cotton, rice, sugar cane, corn, and oats. 

The greatest agricultural needs of the South Central 
states, as a whole are: (1) Better protection from river floods. 
(2) A more universal use of modern agricultural machinery 
and better methods of soil tillage. (3) Systems of crop rota- 
tion wherein the staple "money crops," cotton, corn, oats, 
tobacco, rice, and sugar cane, shall be rotated with forage and 
pasture crops. (4) A more general use of cover crops on the 
rolling lands to check soil erosion and the leaching of soluble 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL STATES 213 




Photo by courtesy C. V. Piper, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 

Plowing under cowpeas for green manure. Cowpeas are the pre-eminent soil 

renovating crop of the Southern states. The humus and nitrogen content 

of a worn soil can be quickly increased by a systematic rotation plan including 

occasional cowpea green manure crops. 

plant food. (5) A more general use of green manure crops 
to maintain a "humus equilibrium" in the soil. (6) Soil 
amendment, when necessary, with cheap, ground phosphate 
rock and potash salts, in place of the indiscriminate use of 
the "complete commercial fertilizer." 

Flood protection is an immense problem entirely outside 
the scope of the subject of crop rotation. But, with the ex- 
ception of this important agricultural problem, crop rotation 
and systematic field management — in the broadest interpre- 
tation of the term — is the remedy for most of the agricultural 
ills of the South Central states. There may be areas that 
have become so impoverished through continuous cotton or 
tobacco culture and shiftless farming methods, or that were 
so naturally deficient in the elements of plant food, as to 



214 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



make the extensive use of commercial fertilizers an essential 
part of a profitable system of agriculture; but experience 
shows that crop rotation, thorough tillage, cover crops and 
green manure crops, are the practices most needed in the 
South Central states to raise the general productivity of the 
land. 

The present day agriculture of the South Central states 
is extensively varied in character. On the whole, there is 
probably more mixed farming than special crop farming, as 
live stock products are the largest agricultural resources of 
the region. But special crop farming is also very prominent 
in this region, and some special crop usually predominates 
in the so-called "mixed" types of farming. In Kentucky, 
Tennessee, and Oklahoma, live stock is the leading product 
of the farms, with cereals second in importance. In Texas 
and Arkansas live stock products lead, with cotton second. 




Harvesting sugar cane in Louisiana. 



'0TATI0N8 FOR SOUTH CENTRAL STATES 215 

In Alabama and Mississippi, cotton is the leading product, 
with live stock second. In Louisiana, cotton is the leading 
product, with sugar cane second in importance. In all the 
states of this group except Kentucky, cotton is an important 
crop. In Kentucky, tobacco is the great special crop, and the 
white and dark Burley tobaccos are world famous. Hemp is 
also a great staple crop in parts of Kentucky; in fact, about 
nine tenths of the hemp crop of the United States is grown 
in Kentucky. Rice is an important special crop in Louisiana 
and Arkansas. Kentucky is famed for its horses and cattle. 
Texas, although rapidly being settled and put under plow, is 
still famous for its range cattle, and live stock products still 
lead all others by a wide margin. Truck crops are becoming 
especially important in Southeastern Texas, Louisiana, Mis- 
sissippi, and Arkansas. All kinds of temperate zone fruits and 
some tropical fruits are grown in considerable quantity in 
this region. 

The staple field crops of the South Central states are 
cotton, corn, and oats, and they are prominent in nearly 
every part of the region. Other important field crops are: 
alfalfa, cowpeas, soy beans, clovers, peanuts, vetches, sweet 
clover, timothy, blue grass, Johnson grass, Bermuda grass, 
brome grass, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, wheat, rye, 
barley, buckwheat, Kafir corn, milo maize, and proso millet. 

In the following paragraphs a number of rotation plans 
are shown that provide plans of cropping wherein cotton, 
tobacco, sugar cane, and rice are given prominence in the 
rotation. Other plans are shown for mixed grain and live 
stock farming, also plans for grain farming in the Western 
areas of Texas and Oklahoma. Where these rotation plans 
are not adaptable to a wide territory but only to some special 
region, the name of the state is given with the plan to indicate 
that the rotation is not of general adaptability. 



216 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Rotation Plans Giving Special Consideration to Cotton. 

Cotton, corn, and oats are the three great staple crops of the 
old farming regions of the South Central states, cotton being 
the universal ''cash crop," and corn and oats the feed crpps. 
A majority of the farms in the old cotton belt are small in 
area, and without considerable re-planning and financial 
outlay ill adapted to diversified farming with pasture crops 
and live stock. For these reasons a widely useful rotation 
in the cotton belt should be a short course rotation without 
pasture crops; should include the staple crops to which the 
farmers are accustomed ; and should depend on some reliable 
legume crop used as a catch crop to maintain the humus 
equilibrium of the soil. The following three-course rotation 
meets all these requirements and is widely adaptable in the 
cotton growing areas of the South Central states : 

1 — Corn (cowpeas sown at last cultivation and 
plowed under for green manure) ; 2 — Oats, stubble 
plowed in summer (cowpeas for hay or ensilage) 
3— Cotton.* 
Experimental work with this rotation to demonstrate its 
usefulness in the cotton belt has shown very marked results 
in increasing soil productivity. Generally, the poorer and 
more impoverished the soil the more marked have been the 
results, indicating that the great need of the soil areas in the 
cotton belt is an increase in their supply of humus and avail- 
able nitrogen. As a rule the beneficial results are cumulative : 
that is to say, the crop yields increase gradually up to a max- 
imum that is reached several years afterthe rotation is begun, 
indicating that as the humus supplies decay in the soil the 
plant food is gradually unlocked from the soil materials and 
made available to crop roots, until a maximum productivity 

*The Triennial Crop Rotation System. Hugh N Starnes. Bailey's Cyclo- 
pedia of American Agriculture. Vol. II. 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL STATES 



217 




Photo by courtesy C. V. Piper, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

Harvesting cowpeas for their seed value. When grown for seed, the crop is 
planted in rows that can be inter-tilled. 

is reached that is Umited by the natural fertihty of the soil. 
Some general results may be stated that show the efficiency 
of this rotation on the soil areas of the old cotton belt. Where 
the average yield of cotton on the old impoverished soil areas 
under a continuous system of cotton culture is about 3^ bale 
(500 lbs.) per acre, the yield of cotton will often increase to 
^ bale (1,000 lbs.) per acre after the first cycle of the rota- 
tion; to 1 bale (1,500 lbs.) per acre after two rotation cycles; 
and to 13^ bales (2,000 lbs.) per acre after three rotation 
cycles, thereafter seldom falling below 13^ bales (2,000 lbs.) 
per acre, and sometimes reaching two bales (3,000 lbs.) per 
acre under very favorable climatic conditions. The yields 
of corn and oats do not usually increase in proportion to 
the increase in cotton yield, because cotton is given the most 
favorable place in the rotation, and yet the increase is 



218 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

marked and the yields are much higher than under con- 
tinuous cropping to the staple crops. 

Other rotations giving prominence to cotton are given 
herewith : 

(a) 1 — Corn with cowpeas; 2 — Oats, followed by cow- 

peas or soy beans; 3 — Cotton (crimson clover 
sown among cotton plants in autumn for cover and 
green manure crop). 

(b) 1 — Corn with cowpeas; 2 — Oats followed, by cow- 

peas; 3 — Cotton (crimson clover sown among 
cotton plants in autumn for cover and green 
manure crop); 4 — Crimson clover plowed under; 
Cotton. 

(c) (Mississippi) 1 — Cotton continuously with annual 

vetch in winter between crops of cotton. 

(d) 1 — Corn with cowpeas; 2 — Cotton. 

(e) 1 — Cotton; 2 — Cotton (crimson clover sown among 

cotton plants in autumn for cover crop and green 
manure); 3 — Crimson clover plowed under; Corn; 
4 — Oats followed by cowpeas for hay or ensilage. 

(f) 1 — Cotton; 2 — Oats, followed by cowpeas for hay 

or ensilage; 3 — Cotton; 4 — Corn (cowpeas sown 
at last cultivation for green manure) . 

(g) (Oklahoma) 1 — Corn or Kafir corn; 2 — Oats fol- 

lowed by cowpeas fall plowed for green manure ; 

3 — Cotton, 
Rotation Plans for Diversified Farming. The following 
rotation plans illustrate a great variety of crop combinations 
for diversified farming in the South Central states. Some 
of these plans are adapted to small dairy farms, others to 
general live stock farms also producing "cash crops" on a 
portion of the land, and still others are so planned as to have 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL STATES 219 

certain staple "cash crops" predominate in the rotation and 
to make Hve stock enterprises of secondary importance. 

(a) (Kentucky and Tennessee) 1 — Corn (wheat); 2 — 

Wheat (red clover) ; 3 — Clover meadow. 

(b) (Kentucky and Tennessee) 1 — Tobacco (rye cover 

crop and green manure); 2 — Rye plowed under, 
corn (wheat); 3 — Wheat (blue grass); 4 — Blue 
grass; 5 — Blue grass. 

(c) (Kentucky and Tennessee) 1 — Corn with cowpeas 

(crimson clover cover crop and "green manure) ; 
2 — Crimson clover plowed under, Soy beans 
(wheat); 3 — Wheat (clover); 4 — Clover meadow. 

(d) 1 — Corn; 2 — Cowpeas for hay or ensilage (wheat); 

3 — Wheat (clover) ; 4 — Clover meadow. 

(e) Same plan as (c) or (d) but with a fifth field in perma- 

nent pasture, the rotation to be planned as in 
Diagram XIX. 

(f) (Kentucky and Tennessee) 1 — Tobacco (wheat) ; 

2 — Wheat (clover); 3 — Clover meadow; 4 — Corn 
(crimson clover cover crop and green manure) . If 
desired, this rotation could have a fifth field in 
permanent pasture according to plan of Diagram 
XIX. 

(g) (Kentucky) 1 — Tobacco (wheat); 2 — Wheat 

(clover); 3 — Clover meadow; 4 — Hemp; 5 — Corn 
(crimson clover cover crop and green manure). If 
desired, this rotation could have a sixth field in 
permanent pasture according to the plan of Dia- 
gram XIX. 
(h) (Tennessee) 1 — Cowpeas (rye cover crop and green 
manure); 2 — Rye plowed under, Cowpeas; 3 — 
Corn (wheat); 4 — Wheat (clover); 5 — Clover 
meadow. 



220 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

(i) (Tennessee) 1 — Wheat (clover and timothy); 2 — 
Meadow; 3 — Pasture (wheat); 4 — Wheat, fol- 
lowed by cowpeas; 5 — Corn with cowpeas; 6 — 
Oats followed by cowpeas (wheat) . 

(j) (Texas and Oklahoma) 1 — Corn; 2 — Cowpeas for 
hay or ensilage; 3 — Cotton; 4 — Oats, followed by 
cowpeas for green manure. A fifth field in 
alfalfa or clover and timothy as in Diagram XIX. 

(k) (Texas and Oklahoma) 1 — Cotton; 2 — Corn; 3 — 
Oats* (clover and timothy); 4 — Meado,w; 5 — 
Pasture. 

(1) (Texas and Oklahoma Grain Regions) 1 — Wheat, 
followed by cowpeas for hay or ensilage; 2 — Oats, 
followed by cowpeas for green manure; 3 — Corn 
(wheat) ; 4 — Wheat (clover) ; 5 — Clover meadow 
(wheat). 

(m) (Oklahoma Grain and Cotton) 1 — Corn; 2 — Oats, 
followed by cowpeas for green manure (wheat); 
3 — Wheat; 4 — Corn with cowpeas; 5 — Cotton. 

^n) (Oklahoma Grain and Com) 1 — Corn with cowpeas 
(wheat); 2— Wheat; 3 — Oats followed by cow- 
peas for green manure (wheat) ; 4 — Wheat. 

(o) (Oklahoma Grain and Live Stock) 1 — Corn (wheat) ; 
2 — Wheat (wheat); 3 — Wheat (clover and tim- 
othy); 4 — Meadow; 5 — Pasture. 

Rotation Plans Giving Special Consideration to Tobacco. 

(a) (Kentucky) 1 — Tobacco (wheat) ; 2 — Wheat (clover) ; 
3 — Clover meadow. On farms of comparatively 
large size where live stock is an important farm 
enterprise, this rotation could be used in con- 
nection with another field of permanent alfalfa, 
as in Diagram XVIII. 



ROTATIONS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL STATES 221 

(b) (Kentucky) 1— Tobacco (wheat); 2— Wheat, fol- 
lowed by cowpeas for hay or ensilage (crimson 
clover cover crop and green manure) ; 3 — Crimson 
clover plowed under, Tobacco. 

Rotation Plans Giving Consideration to Sugar Cane. 

(a) (Louisiana) 1 — Sugar cane; 2 — Sugar cane; 3 — 
Sugar cane; 4 — Corn with cowpeas for green 
manure. 

Rotation Plans Giving Special Consideration to Rice. 

(a) (Louisiana and Arkansas) 1 — Rice; 2 — Rice; 3 — 

Rice; 4 — Fallow; 5 — Corn and cowpeas. 

(b) (Louisiana upland rice) 1 — Rice; 2 — Rice; 3 — Corn 

with cowpeas. 

Rotation Plans for the Grain Districts of Western Texas 
and Oklahoma. 

(a) 1 — Wheat (winter oats for pasture and green manure ; 

2 — Wheat; 3 — Oats (sweet clover for cover crop 
and green manure) ; 4 — Sweet clover green manure 
and fallow. 

(b) 1 — Milo maize or Kafir corn (wheat); 2 — Wheat 

(sweet clover cover crop and green manure) ; 3 — 
Green manure fallow (wheat) ; 4 — Wheat. Either 
of these rotations could be combined with a 
permanent pasture of alfalfa, brome grass, or 
sweet clover, as in Diagram XIX. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) Prepare a table from the United States Census Reports that will 

show in the order of their importance, the values produced by 
the various agricultural enterprises of the South Central states. 
What are some of the speciaUzed, intensive types of agriculture 
pursued in the South Central states? 

(2) What are the most important "cash crops" of the South Central 

states? See U. S. Census Reports. 



222 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

(3) What is the average size of the farms in the South Central states? 

What per cent of the farm land area in these states is under cul- 
tivation. See U. S. Census Reports. 

(4) Are there any large areas of virgin land remaining in the South 

Central states? If so, where located? What crops and types 
of farming are best adapted to these new regions? See reports 
and bulletins U. S. Departments Interior and Agriculture. 

(5) Prepare diagrams that will fully iUustrate practical rotation plans 

for the following types of farming in the South Central states: 
Diversified farming with rotation pastures producing grain, corn 
and live stock or dairy products; same type of farming with 
permanent pastures; diversified farming with cotton or tobacco 
as the "cash crop;" specialized cotton farming; specialized tobac- 
co farming; specialized rice farming; specialized sugar cane 
farming. 

(6) Prepare a diagram that will fully illustrate a rotation plan devised 

for the particular purpose of renovating worn cotton lands 
in the South Central states. 



CHAPTER XI 
ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 

General Statements about the Agriculture of the Western 
States. The Western states of the United States comprise 
Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, 
Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California. 

This vast territory, tributary to the Pacific seaboard, has 
a variety of climatic conditions that range from arid to humid 
as regards moisture, and from semi-tropical to north tem- 
perate as regards temperatures and the character of plant 
life. No other territory on the North American continent 
has such a wide variation in rainfall, temperatures, and 
character of plant life as this one designated as the Western 
states. Those portions in the lower altitudes in New Mexico, 
Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and 
California, are desert areas where rainfall is so scant as to be 
an absolutely negligible factor in agriculture, where such 
rain as does occasionally fall is quickly evaporated in the 
high temperatures, and where such desert loving plants as 
the cactus, greasewood, and the sagebrush are the only 
indigenous forms of plant life. In many of these desert 
areas, moreover, the supply of water for irrigating purposes 
is very limited, and there are millions of acres that never 
can be used for agricultural purposes. 

In contrast to these desert areas there are large areas on 
the North Pacific Slope, and also on the higher altitudes of 
some of the mountain ranges, where the rainfall is abundant 
for temperate zone plant life and where the evaporation of 
soil moisture is not such as to cause almost total loss of the 
moisture precipitation as in the desert areas. In these humid 



224 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 




ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 225 

sections of the Western states a great variety of temperate 
zone plant life is found that is quite similar to the plant life 
of the humid sections of the North Central states. Gen- 
erally speaking, the winters are less severe in the humid 
sections of the Western states than in the North Central 
states, and there is less snowfall. 

Semi-tropical temperatures and crops are found in several 
places in the Western states, notably Southern California, 
Southern Arizona, and Southern Nevada. In these regions, 
however, the rainfall is not sufficient for profitable agricul- 
ture or horticulture, and irrigation is essential to crop or 
tree growth. The frost free conditions of these regions 
is mainly due to their proximity to the warm waters of the 
Japan Current and the trade winds which pass over these 
warm waters and modify the air temperatures inland. 

The Japan Current is also a noticeable factor in modifying 
the climate of the North Pacific coast, and its influence on air 
temperatures and rainfall can be noted as far North as 
Alaska, and East well into the Rocky Mountain districts. 
In Montana, for example, the climatic conditions West of the 
Rocky Mountains are much different from those on the 
Eastern side of the state. West of the Rocky Mountains, 
and in the mountain valleys, the winters are comparatively 
mild and the rainfall more abundant than in Eastern Mon- 
tana. Cold air and storms come into this territory more 
often from the East and the Northeast than from the West 
and Northwest. In Oregon, Washington, and British Col- 
umbia, the winters are milder, and extremes in temperatures 
less marked than at similar latitudes in the North Central 
states or the central provinces of Canada. 

Altitude is a very important factor in causing climatic 
variation in the Western states and, therefore, modifies 
agricultural conditions. Arable land areas, either having 

15 



226 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

sufficient rainfall for crop growth or available water for 
irrigation, exist in the Western states at altitudes ranging 
from a few feet above sea level to 6,000 or 8,000, feet above 
sea level. Regions of high altitude have a comparatively 
low mean temperature, with cool nights, small extremes in 
temperature, and with greater rainfall than regions of low 
altitude in the same latitude. Thus it is not uncommon 
in parts of the Western states to find warm valleys at low 
altitudes where semi-tropical and southern temperate zone 
crops will flourish, and agricultural areas at higher altitudes 
where the only crops that can be grown are the hardy cereals, 
grasses, and forage crops of the northern temperate zone. 

Great plateaus or plains are found in the Western states, 
at altitudes of 1,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level, that are 
semi-arid in climate, and where the native vegetation con- 
sists mainly of short grasses such as the bunch grass and the 
buffalo grass. The annual precipitation of moisture in these 
regions is from ten to twenty inches, most of which falls in 
the spring and early summer, the balance falling in the late 
autumn and winter. The greater part of these areas can 
never be supplied with irrigating water, and such agriculture 
as is pursued must depend on the rainfall. Fortunately, 
however, such rains as do fall come in the seasons when crops 
are most in need of moisture, and the generally cool temper- 
atures do not cause excessive evaporation. Thus the so- 
called "dry farming" methods of agriculture which provide 
deep tillage, occasional bare fallows, and thorough surface 
tillage to conserve moisture, are usually successful, and per- 
mit the profitable growth of many temperate zone cereals, 
grasses, and forage crops. 

The agriculture of the Western states is new as compared 
with the agriculture of the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, 
South Central and North Central states. Few agricultural 



ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 227 

areas of any importance have been under cultivation for 
fifty years. Some scattering agriculture was practiced prior 
to the Civil War near the old Spanish missions, also by the 
Mormon colonies in Utah, and by some of the stranded 
gold seekers of 1849; but commercial agriculture in the West- 
ern states received its first great impetus with the coming 
of the trans-continental railways in the decade 1870 to 1880. 
From that time to the present the agricultural development 
of the Western states has been marvelous. It was unusually 
rapid compared with the development of the older regions 
on account of the fact that modern agricultural machinery 
was at the service of the Western pioneer, and his efficiency 
in subduing land was greater than in the earlier periods of 
American history. 

The agriculture of the West has developed into vast 
proportions in a night, as it were. In its early stages it was 
almost entirely pastoral, with the exception, perhaps, of the 
great wheat farms that quickly came into being in Northern 
Cahfornia and in Washington and Oregon. Cattle ranching 
in the earliest days, and then sheep ranching as well, came to 
be the great agricultural industries. There were millions of 
acres of free range, abundant water in the mountain streams, 
shelter in the valleys, and plenty of irrigating water for the 
early settler to employ in producing alfalfa for winter feed. 
When the gold seeking craze subsided in the West, thousands 
of prospectors were bankrupt and unable to leave the country. 
From necessity many of these men turned to ranching. With 
countless acres of range, with freedom from the financial 
burdens of the Eastern farmer who paid interest, taxes, and 
machine bills, these ranchers of the early days in the West 
had but to wait for the natural increase in their live stock to 
make them a living and sometimes to make them very weal- 
thy. And it was the spirit of the West to lend a helping 



228 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 




1 & 
•o 2 



ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 229 

hand to the beginner. The well estabUshed rancher would 
provide the beginner with a small herd or flock for half the 
natural increase, and so ranching flourished and grew to 
enormous proportions in all of the Western states. 

While live stock ranching was developing in the West 
there was much agricultural and horticultural development 
also taking place. The wheat fields of Northern California, 
Northern Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and certain favored 
valleys in the Rocky Mountain regions, produced wheat in 
sufficient quantity to become a recognized factor in the 
world's wheat markets. Large areas of land, capable of 
irrigation by primitive methods, were sown to alfalfa to 
provide winter feed to supplement the range grasses in live 
stock production. In other places where soil and climate 
were found to specially favor the fruit crops of the temperate 
and semi-tropical zones, orchards were planted, and, in a 
short space of time, the horticultural enterprises of the West 
assumed large proportions. 

When the railways had laid their steel paths throughout 
the Western states, and when the pioneers had proven con- 
clusively the agricultural and horticultural possibilities, the 
small farmer, the truck grower, and the orchardist began to 
steadily encroach on the great, open live stock ranges of the 
country. The best land was soon homesteaded, water rights 
on the streams available for irrigation were filed with the 
courts, and the patches of grain, alfalfa, and tree crops grew 
up rapidly in the wildernesses where once the cattleman and 
the sheepman were supreme. Ranching died hard on the 
Western range. It gave way to the farmer only after a bitter 
struggle, but the thousands of small farmers would not be 
denied, and to-day there is littleof the old time stock ranching 
in the West. Stock grazing is still supreme in those sections 
of the West too arid for dry farming crops, and where irrigat- 



230 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 




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ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 231 

ing water is not plentiful; but the richest grass areas of the 
Western range are now interspersed with countless farms that 
stand in the path of the. old time system of ranching. Much 
live stock is still produced in the West, but under different 
conditions. The national forest reserves in the mountainous 
areas still provide large grazing tracts where stock can be 
pastured for six to eight months in the year at a nominal 
cost. But the herds and flocks have become smaller in size 
and are largely owned by the farmers who grow grain and 
alfalfa in the valleys, fatten their stock on the farms, and use 
the range on the forest reserves to supplement the tame grass 
pastures. 

The extensive development of grain growing in the 
semi-arid regions of the Western states since the year 1905 is 
one of the conspicuous features of agricultural development 
in the West. Hundreds of thousands of acres are now sown 
to winter wheat, flax, oats, rye, and barley, that but a short 
time ago were covered with a light growth of plains grasses. 
Winter wheat production, especially, has proven highly 
successful in many of these semi-arid regions, and crops are 
grown that surpass in quality the winter wheat of the North 
Central and South Central states, and that often excel in 
yield per acre. Montana has become the banner flax 
state, and there is a vast acreage of land adapted to flax that 
still invites the plow. 

In the present day agriculture of the Western states 
live stock production is still the leading agricultural enter- 
prise, although, as previously noted, the methods of live 
stock production have undergone a change from exclusive 
grazing to a system that combines much hay and forage pro- 
duction with grazing. Second in importance comes hay and 
grain production, and third, dairying. Fruit and truck crops 
are of suflicient importance in many regions to compete with 



232 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

dairying for third place in the leading agricultural industries 
of the Western states, and, in California, live stock produc- 
tion, grain and hay production, and fruit and truck crops, are 
of approximately equal importance. Alfalfa, more than any 
other crop, is the universally grown crop of the Western 
states. Many farms are devoted exclusively to alfalfa 
production and the hay is fed out in the winter season to 
range live stock or baled and shipped to the cities, the fruit 
growing districts, the mining camps, and the lumber camps. 
Almost every ranch in the Western states produces alfalfa 
except the exclusive fruit and truck ranches, the dry farming 
grain ranches, and a few areas in the humid region of the 
North Pacific slope, where wheat is still grown to the exclu- 
sion of nearly all the other field crops. The great majority of 
the irrigating ditches of the Western states carry water to 
fields of alfalfa. Alfalfa is to the Western states what 
cotton is to the South Central states — the staple crop of the 
country. 

The rapid development of irrigation in the Western states 
is a very conspicuous feature of Western agriculture, and the 
possibilities for agricultural development in the West through 
irrigation are only at their beginning. Irrigation is old, 
considering the relative age of Western agriculture. In fact, 
the earliest agriculture in the Western states was irrigated 
crop growing practiced in Utah by the Mormons in the 
decade prior to the Civil War. The early Mormon col- 
onies became adepts at irrigation long before the real coloni- 
zation movement started into the Western states. Prior to 
the irrigation work begun by the Mormons, some irrigation 
was practiced by the scattering Mexican settlers in Lower 
California, the Spanish monks of the missions, and even 
by the native Indian tribes of the Western states. From 
these early beginnings in irrigation work the practice spread 



ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 233 





^^ 


^.1 W 1 1 i^^P^^ 


.' **' 


^' 




m 




W 



Photo by courtesy C. M. and St. P. Railway. 
Irrigation flume conducting water from the mountain watersheds to the valley 
farms. 

rapidly with the coming of the gold seekers and with the later 
advent of the hordes of genuine land seekers. 

Private water rights, private ditches, and a wasteful use 
of irrigating water were characteristic of the early days in 
Western agriculture, and are still features in many of the 
newly settled districts. But, as time passed, the irrigation 
work became more organized and co-operative in nature. 
Co-operative Water Users' Associations, and State and Fed- 
eral Government Irrigation Projects began to take the place 
of unorganized, individual use and control of irrigating 
water. The waste of water was checked, and, by checking 
waste as well as controlling the water on the watersheds by 
means of reservoirs and flumes, the area of land that could be 
put under ditch was enormously increased. 

At the present time the projected plans for irrigation 
work in the Western states are of vast size and extent. Huge 
dams and reservoirs are being constructed that will store up 
enormous supplies of melted snow and rain water in the 



234 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



mountains that now run to waste for a large part of the year, 
and release it gradually, and as needed, to the tributary 
farm lands. In many sections the engineering works per- 
taining to irrigation are highly perfected, and every drop of 
snow and rain water that accumulates on the mountain 
water-sheds is conserved and utilized on the adjacent arable 
lands. In many other sections irrigation is crude and prim- 
itive, water is wasted, and a large part of the available water 
supply is allowed to run off into the main water-courses. 
As the West settles, however, and as wealth accumulates, 
hundreds of great engineering projects will undoubtedly 
arise that will conserve the water supplies on the mountain 
water-sheds and make possible the irrigation of ten acres 
where one acre is now under ditch. The future will undoubt- 
edly see millions of acres of Western land, now arid or semi- 




Photo by courtesy Northern Pacific Railway. 
An irrigation dam in the Western states. The acreage of land that may be 
irrigated from any watershed is greatly increased by dams and reservoirs 
that prevent a rapid run-oS of snow water. 



ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 235 

arid, under ditch and yielding rich harvests of cereal, hay, 
and fruit crops. 

The soil areas of the Western states are, generally speak- 
ing, of sedentary and colluvial origin. That is to say, the 
soils are mainly composed of local rock materials eroded 
from the adjoining mountain ranges, or decayed rock 
materials underlaid by the native rock. In some regions 
there is volcanic ash soil that was spread out from vol- 
canoes now extinct. There are comparatively few soil 
areas that have resulted from the activity of glaciers, 
as is the case of the soil areas in the North Central 
states. There are many areas of alluvial soil (water 
deposited soil) along the streams, but no such great, 
widespreading areas of alluvial soil as are found in the old 
lake bed of Lake Agassiz in Minnesota and North Dakota, 
or the alluvial lands of the Mississippi River in the South 
Central states. For these reasons the average soil area of 
the Western states does not contain such a mixture of rock 
materials as many of the glaciated and alluvial soil areas of 
the North Central and South Central states. 

Many large soil areas in the Western states are composed 
almost entirely of decayed limestone with little if any admix- 
ture of granite rock materials. These soils are usually rich 
in phosphorus and weak in potassium and nitrogen, and, 
therefore, somewhat one-sided in their supplies of plant food. 
This condition is less injurious to agricultural soils, than a 
condition where the soil is weak in phosphorus, because field 
crops draw heavily on phosphorus, and a soil weak in its 
natural supplies of phorphorus is more difficult to maintain 
in a condition of high productivity than a soil weak in potas- 
sium and nitrogen. The average soil, especially in the arid 
and semi-arid regions, is very rich in its supplies of available 
plant food. Through ages past these soils have decayed 



236 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

and disintegrated without loss of available plant food 
through the leaching that might occur in regions of greater 
rainfall. 

On the other hand, the average Western soil is low in 
nitrogen content and in its supply of natural humus. Few 
Western soils are black in color, for there is not sufficient 
humus in the virgin soil to cause much black color. With 
no luxuriant growth of wild grasses to decay and form 
humus, these Western soils are commonly brownish in color — 
the weather beaten color of the native rock materials. Men 
who are accustomed to the black prairie soils of the Middle 
West find it hard to believe that the brown colored soils of the 
Western states are productive, for soil color is to them an 
index of fertihty. But color is not an infallible test of soil 
fertility. The weak appearing soils of the Western states 
produce bountiful harvests, if sufficient rainfall can be stored 
in the plowed land or sufficient irrigating water is available 
for the needs of crop growth. 

There are practically no impoverished soil areas as yet 
in the Western states. The agriculture is too new. But 
there are certain indications that point toward impoverished 
soils, unless greater consideration is given in the future to the 
problems of soil fertility. The very fact that the most 
of the Western virgin soils are rich in available plant food, 
and at the same time deficient in humus, is an indication that 
they can be quickly impoverished, unless careful consid- 
eration is given to building up the humus supply, and also 
to preventing the loss of soluble plant food through wasteful 
methods of irrigation. Once the stored up supplies of 
available plant food in the soil have been exhausted, soil 
productivity will surely decrease, unless humus is put into the 
soil by means of crop rotation, live stock manures, and green 
manure crops; for humus is an absolutely essential factor in 



ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 237 

maintaining the supplies of available plant food in the soil. 

Then, too, irrigation, unless carefully safeguarded, is an 
active agent in leaching away the soluble plant food of the 
soil. If an excessive amount of irrigating water is used on 
rich soils, available plant food in excess of what the crops use 
is carried off the land and lost. Neither of these conditions 
is markedly apparent as yet in Western agriculture, but these 
forces are, nevertheless, constantly at work, and impover- 
ished soil areas will result, unless the safeguards provided 
by crop rotation, green manures, and careful methods of 
handling irrigating water are provided in the years to come. 

The so-called "dry land agriculture" of the Western states 
is so new that no thought has ever been given to its future 
or the future productivity of the soils on which it is practiced. 
The problems of the "dry land" farmer up to the" present 
time have been entirely the problems of getting the wild sod 
broken, the choice of crops, the amount of seed to sow per 
acre, and the tillage methods that would best conserve the 
rainfall. Further than this the "dry land" farmer has never 
thought. But the coming years will bring the problem of 
soil fertility as well. "Dry farming," as now practiced in the 
Western states, takes a heavy toll of plant food from the soil 
and returns nothing to maintain a fertile condition. The 
cereal products are sold from the land, the straw stacks 
burned, the occasional bare fallows assist the oxidation of 
such humus, as is in the soil, and no animal manures, sod 
crops, or green manures are used to maintain a humus 
equilibrium in the soil. 

These practices will bring trouble to the "dry land" farmer 
of the future ; for even the richest soils will eventually be put 
into a relatively unproductive condition by these methods of 
cropping. To provide a safeguard against unproductivity 
of semi-arid, dry farming soil areas is not nearly so easy as for 



238 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 




ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 239 

soils in a humid climate or in arid or semi-arid climates, 
where irrigation is practiced. Pastm'e and hay crops are 
relatively unprofitable, and sometimes entirely impractical, 
under "dry land" conditions of agriculture, and the use of 
green manure crops, as catch crops between regular grain 
crops is usually impractical, on account of the scant rainfall 
which prohibits the growth of more than one crop in a season. 

About the onl}^ practical plan that can be used in these 
regions to maintain the "humus equilibrium" of the soil, and 
thus maintain a high state of productivity, is to occasionally 
grow a green manure crop that will produce a comparatively 
heavy fohage before the period of summer drouth arrives, 
and to plow under this crop while green, bare fallowing the 
land for the remainder of the season. Various crops can be 
used in the Western states for this purpose, such as winter 
rye, winter vetch, and sweet clover, or spring sown crops, 
such as field peas, vetches, and buckwheat. This practice 
will give all the benefits of the bare fallow and at the same 
time incorporate sufficient humus in the soil to benefit the 
water holding capacity of the soil, and to assist the processes 
of soil decay that liberate the plant food and make it 
available to crop roots. 

Mixed, or diversified farming, as the term is used in the 
Middle West, is not common in the Western states. It is 
found occasionally, but is not the common type. Western 
agriculture is generally specialized. There are large num- 
bers of alfalfa farms, grain farms, sugar beet farms, potato 
farms, and truck and fruit farms, but not a large number of 
farms where several kinds of field crops as well as live stock 
are produced on the same farm. Favorable soil and climatic 
conditions for special crops have caused much agriculture to 
develop along special lines. Special types of agricultural 
production and marketing have been more thoroughly 



240 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



organized in the Western states than in any other region of 
the United States. "Dry land farming" in the semi-arid 
regions, also, does not easily permit a mixed type of farming, 
but tends to cause a system of almost continuous grain 
culture. Many of the special types of agriculture are so 
firmly established in the West, and the soil and climatic 
conditions are so favorable for special crops, that the future is 
not likely to see such a general trend toward diversified 
farming as is taking place in the North Central states. 
In the humid regions of the Pacific Slope country, and 
also in many of the irrigated sections of the Northern 
part of the Western states, diversified farming will undoubt- 




Photoby courtesy Washington Agricultural Expt. Station. 
Harvesting wheat in Washington with the combined harvester and thresher. 
Extensive and continuous wheat growing, as represented in this picture, is 
being supplanted by a mixed type of farming. 



ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 241 

edjy increase in extent and popularity in the years to come. 
Dairy farming, for example, is greatly undeveloped in the 
Western states and production is behind the demand, 
causing large imports from the Eastern states. 

The fact that Western soils are, as a rule, low in their 
natural supply of humus will necessitate more diversified 
farming and the use of green manure crops in the future to 
maintain a condition of high soil productivity. Western 
agriculture at the present time is largely appropriating the 
accumulated stores of available plant food in the soil and 
paying but little attention to the future productivity of the 
land. As its agriculture ages, and as all the virgin lands are 
put into cultivation, the West will eventually be forced into 
systems of farming that will recognize the future conditions 
of soil productivity. If special types of agriculture are 
maintained in the future, as many of them doubtlessly will 
be, the use of green manure crops will have to be employed 
to maintain the humus supply of the soil and a physical soil 
..ondition that will liberate the reserve plant food as needed 
by crops. In other places, where all the conditions favor 
diversified agriculture, the use of pasture and forage crops 
including deep-rooted legumes, together with live stock enter- 
prises under farm conditions, will undoubtedly replace much 
of the special crop farming now being carried on. 

The staple field crops of the Western states are: alfalfa, 
clover, vetches, timothy, brome grass, field peas, wrinkled 
peas, winter wheat, spring wheat, rye, barley, oats, flax, 
Irish potatoes, sugar beets, and also corn, milo maize, and 
Kafir corn, of secondary importance. There are numerous re- 
gions where corn is a profitable crop ; but the production is 
very small, because the land can be made to bring greater 
returns in alfalfa, truck crops, or fruit crops, ^ome com is 
produced in the river valleys of South Central Montana, also 

16 



242 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

in the valleys of low altitude in California, Washington, and 
Oregon; but the corn crop of the Western states is insignifi- 
cant as compared with the small grain and hay crops. Where 
live stock is fattened on the farms, the pea crop is a common 
feed crop that takes the place of corn as used in the Middle 
Western states. Peas yield abundantly, mature nicely in 
the dry climate, are cheaply produced, and are a rich, fat- 
tening.food. The crop is often "hogged off" in the field with 
excellent results or is cut and stacked for winter feed. 

Pork and beef production can undoubtedly be carried on 
as cheaply, if not more cheaply, in the Western states than 
in the corn belt. The combination of alfalfa pasture, alfalfa 
hay, pea grain, pea pasture, and oats or barley, all cheaply 
produced in comparison with corn, cannot be excelled for 
the purpose of growing and fattening live stock. Corn is 
coming into favor in many of the humid sections of the 
Pacific slope country as a silage crop, but, generally speaking, 
the Western country is not a corn growing region. In com- 
paratively high altitudes the mean temperatures are too low 
and the nights too cool for successful corn culture, and in the 
warm valleys where the mean temperatures are favorable to 
corn culture, the land is usually occupied by crops that are 
more profitable than corn to the farmer. 

The cool temperatures of many parts of the Western 
states, however, are as favorable to small grain production 
as the high mean temperatures of the growing season in the 
corn belt are favorable to the corn crop. The weight per 
bushel and the yield per acre of small grains in the Western 
states average higher wherever there is sufficient moisture to 
mature a crop than in the other agricultural regions of the 
United States. Field peas and wrinkled peas, also, produce 
more abundantly in the cool temperatures and the dry air of 
many sections of the Western states, and the crop is easier 



ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 



243 




244 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

to handle and cure properly. Cotton can be grown success- 
fully in many parts of the Western states where altitudes are 
low and the growing season warm and long. The crop is not 
extensively grown, however, because, where conditions are 
favorable for cotton production, other crops such as fruit and 
truck crops are more profitable, and the areas that can be 
irrigated are limited. 

In the following paragraphs a number of rotation plans 
are shown that are grouped in a general way for the humid, 
non-irrigated lands, the semi-arid, non-irrigated lands, and 
the arid or semi-arid irrigated lands of the Western states. 
In some cases the name of the state is given with the rotation 
to further show the region to which the plan is adapted and 
to show a plan that makes use of the local staple field crops. 
It should be understood that not many of these plans are 
now in use in the Western states; for agriculture there is, as 
previously noted, too new and too specialized to have widely 
adopted the use of systematic schemes of crop rotation. 
These plans are based on the tendencies that now exist, the 
staple crops and the adaptable soil renovating crops of this 
region, and on the well recognized needs for the future agri- 
culture of the Western group of states. 

Rotation Plans, Humid Regions of the Western States. 

(a) (Oregon) 1 — Corn for silage; 2 — Oats; 3 — Wheat 

(clover and timothy) ; 4 — Meadow; 5 — Pasture. 

(b) (Oregon) 1 — Oats; 2 — Oats; 3— Wheat (clover); 

4 — Clover meadow, 

(c) (Oregon) 1 — Corn for silage; 2 — Oats; 3 — Wheat 

(clover) ; 4 — Clover meadow. 

(d) 1— Wheat; 2— Oats (vetch); 3— Vetch hay; 4— 

Wheat (vetch cover crop and green manure) . 



ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 245 

(e) 1— Wheat; 2— Wheat (vetch); 3— Vetch hay; 4— 

Wheat; 5 — Oats (vetch cover crop and green 
manure) ; 6 — Green manure fallow; 7 — Wheat. 

(f) 1 — Wheat: 2 — Oats (vetch); 3 — Green manure fal- 

low. 

(g) 1 — Wheat; 2 — Oats; 3 — Barley (clover and tim- 

othy) ; 4 — Meadow; 5 — Pasture, 
(h) 1— Wheat (vetch); 2— Vetch hay; 3— Oats; 4— 
Peas; 5 — Wheat. 

The following rotation plans designated as (i), (j), (k), 
and (1) are plans soecially adapted to the state of Washing- 
ton, and are adaptable to certain of the non-irrigated dis- 
tricts where the rainfall is abundant, and also to regions 
where rainfall is scant, but where irrigation is practiced. 

(i) 1 — Corn; 2 — Peas; 3 — Oats (winter vetch); 4 — 

Vetch hay. If desired, this four-course rotation 

could be combined with a fifth field in alfalfa or 

timothy and clover as in Diagram XVIII. 

(j) 1 — Corn; 2 — Corn; 3 — Oats (clover and timothy); 

4 — Clover meadow; 5 — Pasture, 
(k) 1 — Corn (winter vetch); 2 — Vetch hay; 3 — Potatoes; 

4 — Oats (clover) ; 5 — Clover meadow. 
(1) 1 — Oats; 2 — Peas. Alfalfa for four to eight years 
in a third field as in Diagram XVIII. 

Rotation Plans for the Non-irrigated, Semi-arid Regions 
of the Western States. 

(a) 1 — Wheat (sweet clover in autumn on disked stub- 
ble) ; 2 — Green manure fallow deep plowed early 
summer; 3 — Flax, early fall plowed (fall wheat); 
4 — Wheat (sweet clover in autumn on disked 
stubble); 5 — Green manure fallow plowed early 
summer (fall wheat). 



246 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

(b) 1 — Wheat (sweet clover in autumn on disked stub- 

ble); 2 — Green manure fallow early summer 
plowed (fall wheat) ; 3 — Wheat, early fall plowed 
(fall wheat). 

(c) 1 — Wheat (sweet clover in autumn on disked stub- 

ble); 2 — Green manure fallow plowed early sum- 
mer (fall wheat); 3 — Wheat, stubble fall plowed; 
4 — Sixty-day oats, stubble early fall plowed (fall 
wheat). Wherever practical this four-course rota- 
tion could be combined with a fifth field of 
alfalfa, brome grass, sweet clover, or timothy, for 
pasture and meadow, according to the plan of 
Diagram XIX. 

(d) (New Mexico) 1 — Barley; 2 — Pea or vetch green 

manure fallow; 3 — Kafir corn or milo maize. 

(e) (New Mexico) 1— Barley; 2— Pea or vetch green 

manure fallow; 3 — Oats; 4 — Kafir corn or milo 
maize. 

(f) (California) 1 — Wheat; 2— Barley (winter vetch); 

3 — Vetch green manure fallow. 

(g) (California) 1— Wheat (winter vetch); 2— Vetch 

green manure fallow; 3 — Barley; 4 — Milo maize 
or Kafir corn, 

(h) (Utah) 1 — Oats; 2 — Pea or vetch green manure 
fallow; 3 — Barley. 

(i) (Utah) 1— Oats; 2— Pea or vetch green manure 
fallow; 3 — Barley; 4 — Corn or potatoes. 

(j) (Colorado) 1— Barley; 2— Pea green manure fallow 
(fall wheat); 3— Wheat; 4— Milo maize or Kafir 
corn. 



ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 247 

Rotation Plans for the Arid and Semi-arid, Irrigated 
Lands of the Western States. 

(a) (Montana) 1 — Oats; 2 — Peas; 3 — Oats; 4 — Peas; 

and a fifth field in alfalfa as in Diagram XVIII. 

(b) (Montana) 1 — Oats ; 2 — Barley (clover) ; 3 — Clover 

meadow; 4— Oats; and a fifth field in alfalfa 
according to the plan of Diagram XVIII. 

(c) (Montana) 1 — Oats (mammoth clover, for fall 

pasture or green manure); 2 — Barley; 3 — Peas; 
4— Oats. 

(d) (Montana) 1 — Wheat (red clover) ; 2 — Clover mead- 

ow; 3 — Flax; 4 — Peas; 5 — Oats (mammoth 
clover for fall pasture and green manure). 

(e) (Montana) 1 — Wheat (red clover) ; 2 — Clover mead- 

ow; 3 — Potatoes; 4 — Barley (mammoth clover 
for fall pasture and green manure) ; 5 — Oats. 

(f) (Montana) 1 — Oats (mammoth clover for fall pasture 

and green manure); 2 — Potatoes or sugar beets; 
3 — Peas; and a fourth field in alfalfa according to 
the plan of Diagram XVIII. 

(g) (Montana) 1 — Barley (clover and timothy); 2 — 

Meadow; 3 — Pasture; 4 — Oats; and a fifth field in 
alfalfa according to the plan of Diagram XVIII. 

(h) (Utah) 1 — Sugar beets; 2 — Oats and peas for hay; 
3 — Sugar beets; 4 — Oats; and a fifth field in 
alfalfa according to the plan of Diagram XVIII. 

(i) (Utah) 1— Com; 2— Sugar beets; 3— Peas for hay; 
4 — Oats ; and a fifth field in alfalfa according to 
the plan of Diagram XVIII. 

(j) (Utah) 1— Sugar beets (winter vetch); 2— Vetch 
crop plowed under, sugar beets or potatoes; 3 — 
Barley; and a fourth field in alfalfa according to 
the plan of Diagram XVIII. 



248 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

(k) (Utah) 1 — Oats; 2 — Peas; 3 — Corn or potatoes; 

4 — Barley; and a fifth field in alfalfa according 

to the plan of Diagram XVIII. 
(I) (Oregon) 1 — Sugar beets (winter vetch); 2 — Vetch 

crop plowed under, sugar beets or potatoes; 3 — 

Barley; and a fourth field in alfalfa according 

to the plan of Diagram XVIII. 
(m) (Oregon) 1 — Barley (mammoth clover for pasture 

and green manure); 2 — Potatoes; 3 — Oats; 4 — 

Wheat; and a fifth field in alfalfa according to 

the plan of Diagram XVIII. 
(n) (Idaho) 1 — Wheat; 2 — Wheat (mammoth clover 

for pasture and green manure); 3 — Oats; 4 — 

Barley; and a fifth field in alfalfa according to 

the plan of Diagram XVIII. 
(o) (Idaho) 1 — Potaotes or sugar beets; 2 — Potatoes or 

sugar beets; 3 — Oats or barley; and a fourth field 

in alfalfa according to the plan of Diagram XVIII. 
(p) (Idaho) 1 — Potatoes or sugar beets; 2 — Oats 

(mammoth clover for fall pasture and green 

manure); 3 — Potatoes or sugar beets; 4 — 

Wheat, and a fifth field in alfalfa according to 

the plan of Diagram XVIII . 
(q) (Arizona and Nevada) 1 — Oats; 2 — Barley; 3 — 

Barley; and a fourth field in alfalfa according to 

the plan of Diagram XVIII. 
(r) (New Mexico) 1 — Oats; 2 — Barley (clover for fall 

pasture and green manure); 3 — Corn; 4 — Wheat; 

and a fifth field in alfalfa according to the plan of 

Diagram XVIII. 
(s) (New Mexico) 1 — Barley (clover for pasture and 

green manure); 2 — Potatoes; 3 — Oats; and a 

fourth field in alfalfa as in Diagram XVIII. 



ROTATIONS FOR WESTERN STATES 249 

(t) (Wyoming) 1 — Oats; 2 — Peas for pasture ; 3 — Barley. 

(u) (Wyoming) 1 — Potatoes or sugar beets; 2 — Peas 
for pasture; 3 — Barley; and a fourth field in 
alfalfa according to the plan of Diagram XVIII. 

(v) (Wyoming) 1 — Oats; 2 — Potatoes; 3 — Wheat; and 
a fourth field in alfalfa as in Diagram XVIII. 

(w) (California) 1 — Sugar beets (winter vetch); 2 — 
Vetch crop plowed under, sugar beets; 3 — Barley; 
and a fourth field in alfalfa as in Diagram XVIII. 

(x) (California) 1 — Wheat (winter vetch) ; 2 — Vetch crop 
plowed under, corn or milo maize; 3 — Barley 
(winter vetch); 4 — Vetch crop plowed under, 
barley; and a fifth field in alfalfa according to the 
plan of Diagram XVIII. 

(y) (Colorado) 1 — Oats; 2 — Peas; 3 — Potatoes or sugar 
beets; 4 — Barley or wheat; and a fifth field in 
alfalfa according to the plan of Diagram XVIII. 

(z) (Colorado) 1 — Potatoes or sugar beets; 2 — Barley 
(clover for pasture or green manure) ; 3 — Potatoes 
or sugar beets; 4 — Wheat; and a fifth field in 
alfalfa according to the plan of Diagram XVIII. 



PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) Prepare a table from the United States Census Reports that will 

show, in the order of their importance, the values produced by 
the various agricultural enterprises of the Western states. 
What are some of the important specialized types of agriculture 
pursued in the Western states? 

(2) What are the most important "cash crops" of the Western states? 

See U. S. Census Reports. 

(3) What is the average size of the farms in the Western states? 

What per cent of the farm land area in these states is under cul- 
tivation. See U. S. Census Reports. 



250 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

(4) Are there any large areas of virgin land remaining in the Western 

states? If so, where located? What crops and types of farming 
are best adapted to these new regions? See reports and bulle- 
tins U. S. Departments Interior and Agriculture. 

(5) Can pork be produced as cheaply and profitably in the Western 

states without corn as in the corn belt states? Write a short 
essay on this problem outlining a plan for pork production 
without corn. Compare costs of production without corn with 
costs where corn is used for fattening swine. Consider land 
values, pastures, crops, markets, labor, and methods of feeding. 
State your conclusions. 

(6) Prepare diagrams that will fully illustrate practical rotation plans 

for the following types of farming in the Western states : Diver- 
sified farming producing grain and live stock with rotation 
pastures, and with permanent or range pastures; intensive 
dairying on irrigated land with no pasture other than meadow 
aftermath; dairying and swine production with rotation pastures; 
specialized swine, sheep and cattle farms; diversified farming on 
irrigated land with potatoes and peas as cash crops, and the 
hay and grain fed to sheep, cattle or swine; large grain farm 
unirrigated land; speciaUzed pea and potato farm irrigated 
land; speciaUzed sugar beet farm irrigated land; mixed grain 
and Uve stock farming on unirrigated land. 

(7) Write a short essay on tillage methods for semi-arid regions. 

(8) Prepare a diagram that will fully illustrate a rotation plan to in- 

clude methods for quickly increasing the nitrogen content of a 
soil naturally weak in nitrogen but rich in phosphorus and potas- 
sium. 

(9) In what manner may the practice of irrigation injure the fertiUty 

of soils? 



CHAPTER XII 

PRACTICABILITY OF ROTATIONS AND 
FIELD PLANS 

The Chief Criticisms brought against systematic crop 
rotation as a practical policy in farm management are: (1) 
that a rigid system of crop rotation does not take into account 
the exigencies of the seasons, that is to say, crop failures and 
variations in climate that would interrupt a regular system- 
atic scheme of cropping, and (2) that a rigid scheme of crop- 
ping does not permit the farm proprietor to alter his business 
in accord with the periodic changes in market demands. 

These criticisms are not of a serious nature and do not 
offer any insurmountable obstacles in the practice of sys- 
tematic crop rotation. It is true that unfavorable and un- 
usual climatic factors may interrupt a regular, projected 
plan of cropping. For example, a field of timothy and clover 
is sown in the North Central or North Atlantic states 
to provide meadow grass for one year and pasture grass 
for two succeeding years. A severe winter or an unforeseen 
period of drouth may injure the stand of grass so sown, and 
at first glance it would seem as though the rotation had 
been completely interrupted. If hardy grasses, as timothy 
or brome grass, are sown in a mixture with clover, total loss 
of the crop rarely occurs; but, in case the stand is very bad, 
forage, to replace the meadow grass, can be easily provided 
with thickly sown fodder corn, oat hay, pea hay, vetch hay, 
or other annual forage crop. Then, if the rotation plan 
called for two years of pasture land following the meadow, 



252 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

another seeding of clover and timothy could be made with 
the annual forage crop, and thus the original rotation plan 
would soon be reinstated. 

In short course rotations where it is not planned to leave 
the land seeded down to grass crops for more than one or 
two years, the loss of a grass crop from freezing out or drouth 
can be met by growing fodder com, oats and peas, millet, or 
other annual forage crops, for cured forage, and pasture can 
be provided by means of catch crops such as clover, field 
peas, winter rye, rape, vetch, or other annual crop. The 
loss of the humus producing function of the clover crop, in 
cases where fodder corn, oat hay, or millet are substituted for 
the clover crop of the rotation, can be easily recovered by 
introducing a green manure crop with the fodder corn or oat 
hay or with the grain crop of the rotation, and plowing the 
organic matter under in the late autumn. 

The interruption of a regular rotation plan, caused by 
failure to get a satisfactory stand of grasses and clover, is 
not as likely to occur in the South Atlantic and South Central 
groups of states as in the North Central or North Atlantic 
states, because, generally speaking, the wmters are less 
severe, and, therefore, there is less chance for the plan to be 
interrupted. There is, moreover, such a wealth of forage 
and pasture crops to choose from in these regions that sub- 
stitutions are easily made for regular crops that have failed. 

Crop failures in any region of the United States do not 
form a real obstacle to the practice of crop rotation providing 
the farm manager is awake to the use of annual forage and 
pasture crops, and to the use of some green manure crop that 
will supply humus to the soil in case the regular meadow and 
pasture crops of his rotation plan have failed. 

Crop rotation, also, need not be organized in such a rigid 
manner as to prevent the farm proprietor from having a 



PRACTICABILITY OF ROTATIONS AND PLANS 253 

choice of crops that can be altered at will to suit fluctuating 
markets and his own crop preferences. So long as the grain, 
grass, and cultivated crops are alternated it makes no great 
difference whether wheat, barley, flax, oats or rye are grown 
as the grain crop, or corn, Kafir corn, milo maize, potatoes, 
sugar beets, or cotton, are grown as the cultivated crop. 
About the only fixed feature of a systematic crop rotation 
is the use of nitrogen gathering and humus producing legume 
crops to be fed to live stock or to be plowed under as a green 
manure crop, and here also the farm manager has a great 
variety of useful crops from which to choose. This feature 
of crop rotation must ever be fixed and permanent, for agri- 
culture, in its broadest sense, cannot be successfully practiced 
for any length of time without the use of crops that will 
maintain the humus supplies of the soil, and also make use 
of atmospheric nitrogen as a source of plant food. Crop 
rotations may be systematic and yet extremely elastic. A 
great variety of crops exist in the grain, grass, and cultivated 
crop classification from which those crops can be selected that 
best suit the market demands, the local climatic conditions, 
and the natural inclination of the farmer. 

From the viewpoint of soil fertility, the main idea, in 
planning a rotation of crops, is to plan a scheme of cropping 
that will maintain the "humus equilibrium" of the soil, that 
will utilize atmospheric nitrogen to some extent as a source 
of plant food, and that will keep the soil in good physical 
condition. From the viewpoint of "business management," 
the main idea in planning a rotation of crops is to provide 
a field system that will effect economies in the application of 
man and horse labor in crop production and that will diffuse 
the labor of the farm as widely as possible throughout the 
year. Crop rotation, wisely planned, meets these essential 
factors in successful farm management, and is by no means 



254 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

a theory that has to be discarded on account of climatic 
variations or market fluctuations. 

The Value of Field Plans and Maps in Farm Manage- 
ment. Rotation plans and maps are as valuable to the farm 
proprietor in the management of his affairs as the building 
plans and specifications of the architect, or the surveys of a 
railway engineer, in the management of their affairs. Houses 
can be constructed without plans and specifications, rail- 
ways can be built without preliminary surveys, and farms 
can be managed without definite rotation plans; but in each 
case the work cannot be most successful unless definite and 
exact plans are developed and maintained. A survey and 
plat of a farm will often reveal many weaknesses in the 
scheme of farm management that would never come to the 
attention of the farm manager unless recorded on paper in 
such a manner as to graphically display the farm and its 
enterprises. 

Farm plans and maps are very useful in recording yields, 
dates of manuring and many other facts pertaining to the 
farm business, as well as to provide the farm manager with 
a comprehensive plan of the work that is under his guidance 
and control. No man's memory is sufficiently reliable to 
carry all the important facts pertaining to his business. A 
complete record of the fields is an essential factor in good 
farm management. The use or non-use of good rotation 
plans and maps in agriculture is the difference between 
system, foresight, and organization on the one hand, and 
shiftlessness, guesswork, and haphazard methods on the 
other. System and organization are most essential factors 
in business undertakings of any kind, and particularly im- 
portant in agriculture, with its necessary multiplicity of 
details. 



PRACTICABILITY OF ROTATIONS AND PLANS 255 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) Prepare a diagram that will fully illustrate the crops and methods 

that may be employed in making substitutions for injured crops 
and crop failures in a three-year, five-year, and seven year 
rotation plan. Use rotation plans and crops adapted to your 
local conditions. 

(2) Prepare a map of your home farm or some farm with which you are 

famiUar, on which dates of manuring, green manuring, fallow- 
ing, deep tillage, pasture records, yields and other important 
data may be easily recorded. A map for this purpose should 
correspond to a map of the completely planned farm showing 
fields laid out in the definite rotation plan. 



PART III 
ROTATION AND COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 



CHAPTER I 

RELATION OF FERTILIZERS TO PERMANENT 
AGRICULTURE 

Comparative Permanency of Agriculture. Comparisons 
between agriculture and mining, lumbering, manufacturing, 
or transportation, are often made in the press or on the 
public platform, in which agriculture is credited with being 
the corner stone of national prosperity and the one permanent 
asset of the nation. It is pointed out that coal mines may 
become exhausted and forests cut down, but that the soil 
areas are inexhaustible wealth producers from which man 
may indefinitely produce food as well as fuel and building 
material long after our mines and forests are exhausted. 
We are quite accustomed, as a nation, to quiet our appre- 
hensions over abandoned mines, closed sawmills, and the 
various industries that depend directly or indirectly on these 
natural resources, with the comforting thought that as a 
nation we possess immense areas of agricultural lands that 
are a permanent national asset for the creation of wealth. 

It is true, of course, that agriculture is the corner stone 
of American business. Cotton, corn, wheat, hay, and live 
stock products are the foundation of American commerce. 
The production, transportation and manufacture of agricul- 
tural products exceed in commercial importance the various 
mining and allied manufacturing enterprises of the nation. 

17 



258 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

It is further true that fertile agricultural lands are a greater 
and more permanent national asset than rich mines or great 
manufacturing enterprises depending for success on cheap 
fuel, skilled groups of laborers, and highly organized trans- 
portation facilities. In comparison with these industries 
agriculture is more permanent, less subject to variation, less 
affected by national competition, and, therefore, highly 
desirable as a national asset. The nation whose commercial 
activities are largely built around the products of its own 
agricultural lands is more certain of its future existence than 
the nation which is depending largely on mining and manu- 
facturing for existence and which must import agricultural 
products. 

But agriculture, as heretofore practiced, is only a 
comparatively permanent industry and not absolutely 
permanent. Nations have achieved wealth and power and 
risen to a prominent place in history on the basis of agricul- 
tural wealth only to recede as their agriculture waned. 
Agriculture is, by comparison, a more permanent industry 
than mining, and appears absolutely permanent in the eyes 
of men whose lives span but a moment in the history of the 
earth they inhabit, but from the broad viewpoint of national 
wealth and long periods of time, agriculture, as commonly 
practiced, is no more a permanent, indestructible industry 
than mining. Just as the mine contains a certain definite de- 
posit of coal, iron or copper, so the soil contains a certain 
definite deposit of the mineral materials that constitute plant 
food, varying in different soils according to the composition 
of the rock materials from which the soil was derived. 

Subtraction of Plant Food. Now, when agriculture is 
practiced, there is a constant drain on the plant food supplies 
of the soil. The farmer is continuously at work, while 
growing crops, on a process which as truly reduces the origi- 



FERTILIZERS AND PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 259 

nal supplies of plant food in the soil as the miner reduces the 
total supply of coal in the mine with every ton that is taken 
out and shipped away. The valuable minerals of the mine 
and the valuable mineral compounds of the soil were pro- 
duced and deposited in ages past by geologic processes that 
are mainly a mystery to man. Man has learned to produce 
in his laboratories some of the valuable minerals of the mine, 
and he has learned to create some of the valuable forms of 
plant food in the soil from elementary matter, but, in the 
main, man continuously subtracts from Nature's stores of 
plant food in the soil and from her stores of valuable minerals, 
and adds but little co the original supply. 

It is self-evident in the practice of agriculture, that, if no 
forms of mineral plant food are ever added to the soil areas 
on which crops are grown, the original supply provided by 
nature must eventually decrease to a point where crops 
cannot be profitably grown. The rate of decrease is, of 
course, very variable. On soils of high natural fertility, 
containing an abundance of all the essential forms of plant 
food, the time required to impoverish the soil would be much 
longer than on a soil that is naturally deficient in some 
particular form of plant food, such as phosphorus. Then, 
too, the rate of decrease varies with methods of agricul- 
ture. Subtraction from the original supplies of plant food 
in the soil is more rapid when grain and hay products are 
sold away from the land than when they are fed to live stock 
and the manure returned to the land. 

Unavoidable Losses of Plant Food. Crop rotation, 
green manures, animal manures, and thorough tillage are 
useful in stimulating soil productivity and in providing 
checks on the subtraction of certain forms of plant food from 
the natural supplies of the soil ; but these methods are power- 
less to actually add any form of plant food to the soil except 



260 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

nitrogen. The judicious use of crop rotations and green 
manures may actually increase the original supply of nitrogen 
in the soil by means of legume crops and their parasitic 
bacteria which gather atmospheric nitrogen; but, with the 
other essential elements of plant food in the soil, such as 
phosphorus and potassium, the case is different. Unless 
these mineral forms of plant food are added to the soil from 
outside sources, a certain amount of subtraction from the 
original supply must continually take place under any method 
of agriculture. The loss may be so gradual as to be almost 
unnoticeable in the life time of one farming generation, but 
it is nevertheless going on. 

Even with the most careful crop rotation farming, includ- 
ing live stock to consume the products of the soil, and with 
all animal manures returned directly to the soil, there is a 
certain gradual loss of phosphorus and potassium in the 
bones and carcasses of live stock that is sold from the land. 
Such losses are unavoidable. It is possible to conceive of a 
scheme of agriculture and the handling of food products and 
waste products from animal and human bodies wherein the 
elements of plant food taken from the soil by crops would 
be almost entirely recovered and returned to the soil, thus 
balancing the subtraction from the original plant food supplies 
of the soil. But such a scheme of agriculture is mainly imprac- 
tical under American conditions of life on account of leaching, 
soil washing, fermentation of manures, and the waste through 
city sewers. The practical thing to remember is, that losses 
of plant food do occur that are unavoidable. With the ex- 
ception of nitrogen, man has as yet discovered no means for 
adding to nature's supply of plant food in the soil other than 
to mine the desired forms of plant food from one region of 
Mother Earth and transfer the materials to his agricultural 
soil areas. 



FERTILIZERS AND PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 261 

Fertility Not Inexhaustible. There is no such thing as 
soil of inexhaustible fertility. The term can be used rela- 
tively, and, from the viewpoint of time as judged by man and 
his span of life, the term is sufficiently accurate to be justi- 
fiable. But from the viewpoint of national life and periods 
of time that run into hundreds or even thousands of years, 
there is no such thing as a soil of inexhaustible fertility. If 
there are any exceptions to this statement, they are to be 
found in the alluvial soils of such great valleys as the Nile 
Valley in Africa, and the Rio Grande Valley in North Ameri- 
ca, where the plant food supplies of the naturally fertile soils 
are continually being added to by the suspended soil materials 
brought in by flood or irrigation water. Under such condi- 
tions, the term "inexhaustible fertility" may be used with 
propriety, because natural processes are adding supplies of 
plant food to the soil to balance any subtractions that may 
be made through the production of crops. Under the ordi- 
nary conditions of agriculture, however, soil of inexhaustible 
fertility does not truly exist, although agricultural practice 
which provides crop rotation, animal manures, green man- 
ures, cover crops, and thorough tillage, so nearly maintains 
a balance of the soil's natural supply of plant food as to make 
the naturally fertile soil appear permanently productive, 
when judged from the period of time that one man's live 
occupies. 

Ultimate Permanency of Agriculture . With these thoughts 
in mind, it may be seen that agriculture, as commonly 
practiced, and as judged from the viewpoint of national life 
and long periods of time, is no more an absolutely permanent 
industry than is the mining of mineral-bearing ore. Success- 
ful agriculture is dependent on an abundant and available 
supply of various forms of plant food in the soil, the most 
important elements of which are nitrogen, phosphorus and 



262 FIELD MANAQEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

potassium. If any of these necessary forms of plant food 
become exhausted in the soil through long continued crop- 
ping, agriculture becomes unprofitable. In the practice 
of agriculture we have an absolute control of the nitrogenous 
plant food of the soil; for, by means of legume crops which 
assimilate through bacteria the nitrogen of the atmosphere, 
we can add nitrogen to the soil at will. But, with the other 
essential elements of plant food, phosphorus and potassium, 
we have but one method of balancing the eventual loss that 
must occur in all soils, and that is by adding directly to the 
soil fertilizing materials that are rich in these forms of plant 
food. 

Agriculture, to be truly permanent for long periods of 
time, must eventually use some form of fertilizing material 
that will return to the soil those forms of plant food that have 
been extracted by crops and totally lost to the soil even under 
the best kind of farm practice, through the waste of city 
sewers and the leaching and fermentation of animal manures. 
When nations take cognizance of these facts about the ulti- 
mate permanency of their agriculture, and make provision 
to check, so far as possible, the fertility waste of city sewers, 
and to use the various forms of commercial fertilizers, when 
necessary, to offset the unavoidable losses of phosphorus and 
potassium that occur in agriculture, then agriculture will 
become a permanent industry, and bountiful harvests be 
secured many generations after the pioneer generation which 
broke the virgin sod and sowed the first crops. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) Write a short essay describing as fully as possible the origin of the 
soils in your community. From what kinds of rock were the 
soils of your community derived? What were the processes that 
were at work in past ages to form these soils? 



FERTILIZERS AND PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 263 



(2) What is meant by a sedentary soil? Alluvial soil? Glacial till 

soil? See reference books on soils. 

(3) What are some of the important plant food characteristics of soils 

derived from limestone, sandstone, and granite rocks? See 
reference books on soils. 

(4) Why are soils in semi-arid regions commonly very rich in available 

plant food when first put under the plow? Make comparisons 
with soils in humid climates. 

(5) If a city of 100,000 people consumes 400,000 bushels of wheat 

annually, how many pounds of nitrogen, phosphorus and potas- 
sium are annually taken away from tributary farm lands and 
entirely lost by the usual American sewer and garbage system? 
See page 296. 




Photo by cmirlesy "The Farmer." 

Liquid manure spreader in operation. Large losses in the fertilizer value 

of animal manures occur when the urine is allowed to go to waste. By means 

of stable drains and reservoirs this valuable fertilizer can be conserved, pumped 

into the spreader tank, and spread on the land. 



CHAPTER II 

LIMITATIONS OF CROP ROTATION IN THE 
MAINTENANCE OF PRODUCTIVITY 

Insufl&ciency of Crop Rotation. In considering the value 
of systematic crop rotation with its pasture and meadow 
crops, aimual catch crop pastures, cover crops, and green 
manure crops, from the viewpoint of soil fertility, the state- 
ment so often used in a popular sense that ''crop rotation 
enriches the' land" is incorrect. A liberal use of legume 
crops in a rotation may actually enrich the land as regards 
nitrogen, and increase the total supply of this element to an 
amount even greater than the natural store of nitrogenous 
matter; but, with the possible exception of nitrogen, crop 
rotation cannot possibly add plant food to the soil in excess 
of the supplies provided by nature. As a matter of fact, crop 
rotation usually results in the removal of more plant food 
from the soil than continuous cropping to any class of crops, 
because crop rotation, thorough tillage and an abundance of 
decaying organic matter in the soil provide those conditions 
that are essential to the Uberation of plant food and the 
production of maximum crops. If crop rotation were prac- 
ticed and all the products of the soil sold ojff the land, the 
decrease in soil fertility and eventually in productivity 
would undoubtedly be more rapid and more marked than in 
case of continuous cropping. Nitrogenous plant food could 
be maintained by means of green manure legume crops; 
but, the soil's supply of phosphorus and potassium would 
surely diminish more rapidly than in continuous cropping. 

When crop rotation, however, is combined with live stock 
pasturing and feeding, and the bulk of the field crop pro- 



LIMITATIONS OF CROP ROTATION 265 

ducts is fed on the farm, with the animal manures returned 
to the land, the actual net loss of plant food from the soil is 
small. Such loss as does occur is represented in the phos- 
phorus and* potassium in the bones, hair, and tissue of the 
live stock products and the losses in the fertilizer value of 
manure that arise through leaching and fermentation. 
When the dung and urine of farm animals are as completely 
saved as possible and returned immediately to the land 
without barnyard leaching or fermentation, the net loss of 
plant food from the soil is small, and maximum crops can 
be produced on naturally fertile soils for long periods of time 
under such methods of farming. 

But, even under the most favorable circumstances, when 
crop rotation and live stock growing are practiced there is a 
small loss of phosphorus and potassium continually taking 
place that is unavoidable. It is incorrect, therefore, to say 
that "crop rotation enriches the land," for it cannot do this. 
It can increase the total supply of nitrogenous plant food in 
the soil and very nearly maintain a balance between the phos- 
phorus and potassium outgo and income, but it cannot add 
anything to the original supplies of phosphorus and potassium 
in the soil. As regards soil productivity, the real value of 
crop rotation, green manures, live stock manures, and 
thorough tillage, is to keep the soil in good physical condition, 
maintain or add to the humus and nitrogen supply, to assist 
those chemical processes in the soil whereby the mineral 
plant food is made soluble and available to crops, and, when 
the crops are fed to live stock, to provide a means for return- 
ing to the soil the greater part of the plant food taken up by 
crops. 

Crop rotation and green manures stimulate the soil to 
greater productiveness wherever the soil is well supplied 
with the various forms of plant food. These practices, how- 



266 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

ever, cannot make available to crops what does not exist in 
the soil. If the soil is naturally deficient in some form of 
plant food, such as phosphorus, for example, and if long 
continued cropping has reduced the original supply of phos- 
phorus to an amount insufficient for profitable crop produc- 
tion, crop rotation, green manures, and live stock manures, 
are impotent to add phosphorus to the soil. The only 
way to increase the plant food supplies of the soil, other than 
nitrogen, is to directly add fertilizing materials that contain 
the desired form of plant food. 

Sufficiency of Crop Rotation. On naturally fertile soil 
areas, composed of mixed rock materials, and not naturally 
deficient in either phosphorus or potassium, and where "soil 
robbing" agriculture has not been practiced until the soil 
has become very deficient in phosphorus or potassium, the 
practicing of crop rotation, including live stock and green 
manures, provides a system of farming that might be called 
quasi -permanent, if not absolutely permanent. Under 
such conditions, agriculture in the United States would rest 
on a far more permanent basis than hitherto, and many of 
our best agricultural areas that first came under cultivation 
since 1880 would avoid for many years the impoverished soil 
conditions of parts of the North Atlantic and South Atlantic 
states. The nitrogen and humus supply of the soil would 
be undiminished, and, while phosphorus and potassium 
would diminish to some extent, the loss would be much 
slower than under a system of continuous cropping when all 
products are sold away from the land. 

American agriculture, on the whole, is so young, and so 
many of our soil areas are so plentifully supplied with the 
essential elements of plant food, that systems of farming 
which include crop rotation, annual catch crop pastures, 
green manures, live stock, and thorough tillage, and which 



LIMITATIONS OF CROP ROTATION 267 

prevent rapid subtraction from nature's stores of plant food, 
are the ones most needed to give immediate stability to the 
agriculture of the United States. If the millions of acres of 
virgin lands in the Western, North Central, and South Cen- 
tral states that were put under cultivation in this generation 
of men could be cropped from now on by these methods that 
are a part of, or associated with, crop rotation, they would 
most certainly remain productive much longer than if 
cropped continuously to wheat, corn or cotton. 

Undoubtedly, in the generations to come, some of these 
soil areas will show deficiencies in plant food, particularly 
phosphorus, that will need correction by means of commercial 
fertilizers, for it is practically impossible to plan a system of 
cropping that will not eventually reduce the phosphorus 
plant food of the soil. But, so long as our surface soils to 
a depth of twelve to eighteen inches contain an abundant 
reserve supply of the necessary forms of plant food in such 
chemical compounds as are mainly unavailable to crop roots, 
there is no use anticipating the soil deficiencies of the 
generations to come. We know that a plentiful supply 
of humus in the soil, provided by crop rotation and green 
manures, will assist those chemical changes in the soil 
that gradually place plant food in available forms, and as 
needed by the crops. 

Here are practical means at hand to maintain the pro- 
ductivity of American soils. They cannot actually enrich 
the land, except in the case of nitrogenous plant food, nor 
make agriculture absolutely permanent; but they will main- 
tain the productivity of land much longer than continuous 
cropping, shallow plowing, and non-use of live stock or green 
manures. There is no use to anticipate the ultimate defici- 
encies of plant food. Where a deficiency exists, it should be 
corrected with the addition of fertilizing materials; but 



268 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

where no marked deficiency as yet exists, the system of 
cropping provided by crop rotation, live stock, green 
manures, and thorough tillage, is the practical method to 
employ in keeping soils in a high state of productivity. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) A farm of 160 acres is divided into four fields of 35 acres each, with 

20 acres in the farmstead and paddocks. A four-course rotation 
of corn, oats, clover, and potatoes, is practiced on the four fields. 
The average yields are: corn, 60 bu. per acre; oats, 50 bu. per 
acre; clover, 1st cutting, 2 tons per acre, 2nd cutting, 1 ton per 
acre; potatoes, 150 bu. per acre. If all the products of these 
fields are sold, how many pounds of nitrogen are annually sold 
away from the farm? What is the nitrogen loss, if the second 
crop of clover is plowed under? What is the loss or gain of 
nitrogen if the potatoes are sold ; the second crop of clover plowed 
under; and the balance of the crop products fed to cattle and 
the manure returned to the land? See pages 296, 297. 

(2) How many pounds of nitrogen are removed from an acre of land by 

a 50 bu. per acre corn crop and a 50 bu. per acre oat crop (total 
amount two crops)? If mammoth clover is sown with the oats 
and plowed under in preparation for corn every alternate year, 
what is the loss or gain of nitrogen in the two-year period? 
(Estimate IJ^ tons per acre of cured clover to plow under.) 
See pages 296, 297. 



CHAPTER III 
NEED FOR COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 

General Conditions Necessitating the Use of Commercial 
Fertilizers. In special crop farming with tree, vine, garden 
or special field crops, where the gross income is high per 
acre of crop, the feeding and forcing of crops with excess 
supplies of available plant food, provided in commercial 
fertilizers, is quite often profitable irrespective of the natural 
fertility of the soil. The high gross income per acre that can 
be derived from such crops makes profitable an investment 
in fertilizers that would be unprofitable with general field 
crops having less value per acre. With these crops a small 
percentage of crop increase due to the fertilizers will pay for 
the fertilizers several times; whereas, in the case of general 
field crops the same percentage of increase due to the use 
of fertilizers might not half pay for the fertilizers and thus 
cause actual loss. 

Under general farm and field conditions with staple field 
crops, it is neither practical nor profitable to purchase com- 
mercial fertilizers until experience shows that crop rotation, 
green manure crops, farm manures, and thorough tillage, 
are impotent to produce good crops. Before the individual 
farmer resorts to the use and expense of fertilizers he should 
be positive that he has done everything possible to keep his 
soil in good physical condition, to provide conditions for the 
liberation of plant food within the soil, and to make use of 
farm manures as a check to the loss of plant food from his 
farm. When all these practices are positively known to fail 
in the production of good crops, then it is time to consider 
the purchase of commercial fertilizers to correct some plant 



270 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

food deficiency in the soil that can be corrected in no other 
way than through the direct addition of plant food. Even 
then, however, the advice of the soil expert should be sought 
before the farmer should invest much money in commercial 
fertilizers. The indiscriminate, unscientific use of commer- 
cial fertilizers is the cause of great w^aste, and may be just 
as influential as a cause of unprofitable farming as failure 
to use a commercial fertilizer on a soil that is greatly deficient 
in some form of plant food. 

A tendency exists in many of the older farming regions 
of the United States to resort to an extensive and indiscrim- 
inate use of readily available forms of plant food in com- 
mercial fertilizers, when a thorough study of the soil and the 
conditions of farming reveals the fact that there is a greater 
need for crop rotation, green manures, farm manures, and 
thorough tillage, than for the commercial fertilizers. The 
following excerpt from bulletin 160 of the Mississippi Agri- 
cultural Experiment Station is a very good statement of 
this tendency among many farmers to resort to an extensive 
use of commercial fertilizers without first giving due consid- 
eration to other means for keeping soil productive. "The 
fact is, people have gone fertilizer mad, as it were, and have 
learned to depend almost entirely on buying plant food in a 
sack rather than on manufacturing the same on the farm by 
growing leguminous crops and by keeping more live stock 
from which to make manure." A statement of this sort 
does not mean that legume crops and farm manures are all 
sufl[icient on all soils to keep them fertile and productive, 
but that these simple, cheap methods are too often neglected 
for the lure of the commercial fertilizer. 

At the present time there are many soil areas in the 
North Atlantic, South Atlantic and South Central states, 
receiving heavy applications of commercial fertilizers, that 



NEED FOR COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 271 

would respond greatly to judicious crop rotation, thorough 
tillage, animal manures, and green manure legume crops, 
and where the intelligent use of such practices would greatly 
reduce the farmer's annual bill for fertilizers. The read- 
ing of advertisements regarding the efficiency of fertilizers, 
or the observation that the application of fertilizers brings 
better crops, leads to the purchase and application of fer- 
tilizers without the farmer's realizing that many benefits 
he secures from them can be secured at less cost by crop 
rotation, animal manures, green manure legume crops, and 
thorough tillage. There is a limit to the efficiency of these 
methods for maintaining soil productivity; but thousands 
of farmers resort to the indiscriminate use of commercial 
fertilizers before they have given crop rotation methods a 
fair trial. 

The many demonstration farms of the United States 
Department of Agriculture in the South Central states have 
furnished ample proof of the present day need for better 
tillage and nitrogen and humus producing crops on the old 
soil areas of these states, and that an increase of soil hunius, 
together with an improved physical condition of the soil, is 
as essential to successful agriculture as the commercial fer- 
tilizer. 

The author recollects an experiment that he made on a 
piece of land in Manchuria that had been cultivated about 
one hundred years with a continued succession of cultivated 
crops, such as sorghum and proso millet, and also wheat, 
barley and soy beans sown in rows and inter-tilled. Yields 
had been reduced to a very low level, although the native 
farmers occasionally applied animal manures to the land. 
The system of farming, however, was such as to rapidly 
oxidize all organic matter in the soil and to make no pro- 
visions for maintaining the ''humus equilibrium." The 



272 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

soil was very apparently deficient in humus and was in a 
poor physical condition with a plow hardpan under the sur- 
face soil. To remedy these very apparent defects a crop of 
barley was sown, on the field and after barley harvest one 
half of the field was shallow plowed (4 inches) and a cro 
of soy beans sown. Early in October when the soy bean 
vines were about eighteen inches high and just starting to 
pod, the crop was plowed under to a depth of seven to eight 
inches. The barley stubble on the other half of the field was 
also plowed at this time to the same depth. The follow- 
ing year Indian corn was planted on both fields. From the 
time the plants broke through the soil until harvest there 
was a remarkable difference noticeable in the crops. The 
crop on the green manured land at all times had a healthier, 
deeper green color, and the plants were larger, stockier, and 
broader leaved. At harvest the green manured field yielded 
about sixty-two bushels per acre and the other field about 
twenty-five bushels per acre. 

This very simple little experiment has been quoted merely 
to show that there are soil conditions causing unprofitable 
crops that are easily corrected without the use of commercial 
fertilizers. In fact, in this case, a heavy application of a 
complete fertilizer would undoubtedly have been less efficient 
than the green manure crop and the relatively deep plowing. 
There are many soil areas in the older parts of the United 
States, also, where agricultural methods of a similar nature 
that will improve the physical texture of the soil, liberate 
latent plant food and fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil, 
are more needed than commercial fertilizers. 

The commercial fertilizer undoubtedly has its place, in 
the agriculture of many of the older soil areas of the United 
States to correct the natural or man made plant food, de- 
ficiencies that cannot be corrected by means of legume crops, 



NEED FOR COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 273 

farm manures, thorough tillage and crop rotation. But, 
nevertheless, the commercial fertilizer cannot take the place 
of those methods of farming that are a part of, or associated 
with, proper crop rotation. In fact the real efficiency of the 
commercial fertilizer is dependent on crop rotation and the 
farm practices associated with it. Without a good physi- 
cal condition and an abundant supply of humus in the soil, 
the commercial fertilizer is relatively unproductive of good 
results. Its efficiency depends to a large extent on those 
soil conditions that are best provided by crop rotation, green 
manure legume crops, farm manures and thorough tillage. 

For the general conditions of staple field crop agriculture 
the only real justification for the purchase and use of com- 
mercial fertilizers is an actual or anticipated deficiency in 
the total supply of phosphorus or potassium plant food 
in the soil area available to crop roots. The purchase of 
nitrogen plant food in general farm practice, and for our 
staple field crops, is usually folly; for it is known that an 
unlimited supply of nitrogen is in the atmosphere and may 
be made available at will through legume crops and their 
parasitic bacteria. Crops remove such comparatively small 
amounts of iron, chlorine, sulphur, etc., that, for all practical 
purposes, the soil is inexhaustibly supplied with these forms 
of plant food. But, when the methods of agriculture have 
been such as to reduce the supplies of phosphorus and potas- 
sium in the soil to a point that makes crop production un- 
profitable, even where crop rotation, green manures, feed- 
ing crops to five stock, and thorough tillage are practiced, 
then the need for the commercial fertilizer to supply these 
deficiencies is imperative. 

How to Determine the Need for Commercial Fertilizers. 
Crops in their growth often show indications of plant food 
deficiencies in the soil. A dull green or yellowish tinge in 

18 



274 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

the leaves and growing tissues of crops is usually an indica- 
tion of a deficiency of available nitrogen in the soil, unless 
drouth or an excessive amount of soil moisture have caused 
this condition. When clover and alfalfa fail to yield abund- 
antly on old soils where these crops have been sown often 
before and where it is, therefore, known that the soil is well 
inoculated with bacteria, it will usually be found that the 
Ught yield is due to a deficiency of phosphorus and lime in 
the soil. This inference is quite often the answer to the 
complaints of farmers in the older agricultural regions of the 
Middle West that their clover meadows are not as productive 
now as they were ten or twenty years ago. The difficulty 
of securing high grade in wheat grown on old soils, as com- 
pared with wheat grown on virgin soil, is usually due to a 
deficiency of available phosphorus. This is true except 
where an epidemic of rust or a period of summer drouth is 
responsible for the poor grade of the grain. 

Crop conditions, however, are not sufficiently accurate 
as an index to conditions of soil fertility and cannot be relied 
on in determining the plant food deficiencies of a given soil 
or the best methods to use in correcting them. When crops 
indicate plant food deficiencies and yields are falling to an 
unsatisfactory level, the expert soil chemist is the physician 
to consult for a diagnosis of the conditions. A reliable 
chemist's soil analysis will reveal the total amounts of the 
various forms of plant food within the tillable areas of the 
soil, and also reveal the approximate percentage of total plant 
food in available condition for crop roots. An analysis of 
this sort gives a basis for determining the best methods to 
employ in correcting plant food deficiencies in the soil, 
although in many cases the analysis should be supple- 
mented with small field tests to definitely prove the profit- 
ableness of the proposed methods of soil amendment. 



NEED FOR COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 275 

If such an analysis or field test reveals a deficiency in 
nitrogen below the amount necessary for profitable crop 
production, the deficiency may be quickly and easily correct- 
ed by plowing under legume crops which have gathered 
nitrogen from the atmosphere. If the analysis reveals the 
fact that the total supplies of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potas- 
sium in the soil are abundant for good crop growth, but that 
the available supply of any one or all of these elements is 
low, the remedy is to introduce a system of farming which 
includes crop rotation, live stock, green manure crops, and 
thorough tillage, that will cause a continuous process of 
plant food liberation in the soil, and that will return much of 
the plant food to the soil where crops may use it again. If the 
analysis, however, reveals a deficiency in the total supply of 
either phosphorus or potassium so great as to be below the 
amounts known to be necessary for profitable crop growth, 
the use of a commercial fertilizer to correct this deficiency is 
imperative; for crop rotation, green manures, and live stock 
cannot possibly correct this plant food deficiency. 

The Profitableness of Commercial Fertilizers, then, can 
be ascertained with approximate correctness by means of 
the soil chemist's analysis, supplemented by small field 
trials, when the chemist considers such trials necessary. 
Every soil area should be studied by itself. The plant food 
supphes or deficiencies of one state are not applicable to the 
whole area of the United States. The composition of soil 
is very variable, and great differences exist in the different 
parts of a state, county, township, section, or the subdi- 
visions of a section of land. Every farm presents a problem 
of its own in the maintenance and control of soil fertility and 
a commercial fertilizer that would be profitable on one 
farm might have much less value on another farm in the 
same neighborhood. Before any farmer applies commercial 



276 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

fertilizers, he should take the precaution to have his soil 
analyzed by his state or district experiment station, and then 
use this analysis as a basis for the use of commercial fertilizers, 
if necessary, or for the planning of methods to correct the 
plant food deficiencies of his particular soil. In many cases 
it is wise to try out the proposed plan of soil amendment on 
strips of land in the farm fields before entering into the pur- 
chase of large quantities of commercial fertilizers. The 
soil chemist's analysis is a guide to the soil's needs, but not 
an infallible rule. When accompanied by a careful field 
trial the profitableness of the commercial fertilizer is ascer- 
tained with sufficient accuracy. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) In normal crop years it is known that a certain field will produce a 

20 bu. per acre crop of wheat, or a 150 bu. per acre crop of pota- 
toes. If $5.00 worth of commercial fertilizers, containing 
available plant food, is applied to an acre of this land, what 
per cent of crop increase must be had with the wheat and pota- 
toes to cover fertiUzer costs and yield a 10% profit on the money 
invested in fertilizers, when wheat is worth 80 cents per bushel 
and potatoes 40 cents per bushel? Which crop would you think 
most likely to produce the necessary increase? 

(2) The cost of producing an acre of wheat is approximately $9.00; 

potatoes, $25.00. If $5.00 per acre is added to the production 
costs for fertiUzers, and a 20% crop increase is thereby secured 
in both crops, what is the effect on the net profits? 

(3) Ascertain the faciUties which your State, County, or Congressional 

District provides for analyzing fertilizers and soils for farmers. 
Find out the sources of expert advice in these matters. 

(4) How would you proceed to secure a representative sample of 

smf ace soil and subsoil from a field? 

(5) Individual students, or small groups of students, should collect a 

soil sample, submit it to the proper experts for analysis, and then 
carry out on a small strip of land such fertiUzer recommenda- 
tions as are made. Tabulate the costs and increase of crop over 
yields on an adjoining plot receiving no fertilizers. 



CHAPTER IV 

PHOSPHORUS, THE KEY TO PERMANENT 
PRODUCTIVITY 

Dearth of Phosphorus. Analyses of agricultural soils 
all over the United States reveal the general fact that phos- 
phorus is the element of plant food most commonly deficient, 
or, if not naturally deficient, the element of plant food most 
likely to become deficient. Potassium is commonly so 
abundant in soils that for the great majority of soil areas the 
supply is practically inexhaustible, especially if good farming 
is practiced, with live stock to check the subtractions from 
the original supplies in the soil. Potassium is an element of 
plant food that is usually deficient in the black, peaty soil 
areas of old swamp lands, and that must be added to the 
soil in a commercial fertilizer to secure maximum crop 
yields. But the soil areas of this nature are comparatively 
small in the United States, and, on the majority of soils 
where general farming is practiced, there is an abundance 
of potassium plant food, and the danger of a widespread 
potassium deficiency is very remote. The natural supply of 
nitrogen is small in many of the Western soils; but a nitrogen 
deficiency is of no great consequence in a consideration of 
a permanent system of agriculture, because nitrogen is easily 
controlled by means of legume crops which gather atmos- 
pheric nitrogen. 

Generally speaking, the Western son areas are naturally 
rich in phosphorus in the form of calcium phosphate, plenti- 
fully supplied with compounds containing potassium, and 
somewhat low in their total supply of nitrogen. Plant food 
is usually readily available in the Western soil, and at the 
present time the necessity is not felt for methods of agricul- 
ture that will release available forms of plant food from the 



278 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

more stable chemical compounds of the soil. As agriculture 
ages in this region, phosphorus will eventually be the element 
of plant food requiring most consideration, although nitrogen 
maintenance will need prior attention. 

Geographical Variations. In the North Central states 
the majority of the agricultural soil areas were naturally 
blessed with a well balanced store of the essential elements 
of plant food. This is particularly true of the upper regions 
of the Mississippi Valley where glacial activity produced 
soils of mixed materials. In this region the extensive and 
continuous growth of corn, wheat, oats and other small 
grains for the past generation, the bulk of which crops has 
been exported from the land with consequent loss of plant 
food from the soil, has been slowly creating a phosphorus 
deficiency. This deficiency has not become very noticeable 
as yet in the newer states in the northern part of this region, 
but, in the southern part, where agriculture is older, phos- 
phorus deficiency ha.s already become a soil problem of con- 
siderable importance. The soils of this region are so uni- 
versally rich in potassium that the danger of a potassium 
deficiency is extremely remote, and, whenever nitrogen 
deficiencies occur, the method for correction is always at 
hand in the legume crop. 

With occasional differences these same general facts 
about plant food deficiencies in the soil are applicable to the 
North Atlantic, South Atlantic and South Central states. 
Occasionally there is a deficiency in potassium, but, generally 
speaking, potassium is abundant in these soils, and a serious 
potassium deficiency is very remote. Lime deficiencies in 
soils, or soil acidity, are found more often, perhaps, in these 
regions than in the North Central or Western states, and 
the liming of soil to correct them is, therefore, not uncommon. 
But nearly everywhere they are of minor importance as 



PHOSPHORUS AND PERMANENT PRODUCTIVITY 279 

compared with present day or anticipated phosphorus 
deficiencies. In many of the older agricultural regions of 
the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, or South Central states, 
the natural store of phosphorus compounds in the soil was 
relatively small, and thus, when agriculture was practiced 
for several generations with no special consideration for 
phosphorus plant food, a genuine phosphorus deficiency 
has arisen. In other places the phosphorus deficiency is an 
anticipated soil condition that will confront the farmers 
before many years. 

Importance. Considering these general facts, therefore, 
that are proven by studies and analyses all over the United 
States, it may be seen that, on the great majority of soils 
where staple field crops are being grown, phosphorus is the 
element of plant food most likely to become deficient and 
to necessitate the use of a commercial fertilizer. Maintain- 
ing an abundant supply of phosphorus plant food in the soil 
is undoubtedly the key to soil productivity for the vast 
majority of the soil areas of the United States. Thus the 
problem of using commercial fertilizers in general field crop 
agriculture, whenever necessary, to the best advantage, is 
mainly a problem of securing cheap phosphorus and apply- 
ing it to the soil by such methods as will bring the greatest 
benefits. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) From your State Agricultural Experiment Station secure all soil 
survey maps and soil analysis reports that soil experts have 
made in your home state. Study these maps and analyses care- 
fully to learn about the origin of the soils, the natural supplies 
of plant food in the soil, the natural deficiencies of the soils, if 
any, and what amendments are necessary, if any, to secure 
maximum productiveness on the various soil areas. Also secure 
publications of Experiment Station and co-operative fertihzer 
testa on the soils of your region and study the results secured. 



CHAPTER V 

SOURCE AND VALUE OF COMMERCIAL 
FERTILIZERS 

Analyses and Costs. Before the farmer buys and uses 
commercial fertilizers for the correction of phosphorus or 
other plant food deficiency in the soil, he should know some- 
thing about the sources of commercial fertilizers, the amounts 
of essential plant food elements which they contain, the 
availability of this plant food to crops, the comparative 
cost per ton of the fertilizer, and the comparative cost per 
pound of the essential elements of plant food contained in 
the fertilizer. With these facts before him, as well as 
knowledge of the plant food deficiencies of his soil as revealed 
through a reliable soil analysis or a small field test, he can 
plan to correct these soil deficiencies at the minimum of cost 
and with consideration for maximum results. Without 
these facts before him, the use of commercial fertilizers is 
mere guesswork and not likely to result in the desired com- 
bination of maximum results at the minimum of cost. 

In the .accompanying table these various facts about 
commercial fertilizers are summarized in such a manner as 
to make easy the comparison of one form of fertilizer mate- 
rial with another. For the purpose of this table only those 
kinds of fertilizing material are displayed that are quite 
abundant in the markets of the United States. Prices are 
shown at various large distributing centers. 



FERTILIZERS— SOURCE AND VALUE 



281 



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282 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Note : The analyses and prices given in this table were furnished 
by courtesy of the following firms and Agricultural Experiment Stations: 
American Agricultural Chemical Company, Boston, Massachusetts; 
Farmers' Ground Rock Phosphate Company, Mount Pleasant, Ten- 
nessee; Central Kentucky Phosphate Company, Lexington, Kentucky; 
Natural Phosphate Company, NashviUe, Tennessee; Swift and Com- 
pany, South Saint Paul, Minnesota; Pacific Bone, Coal and Fertilizing 
Company, San Francisco, California; Bradley Brothers, Sage, Wyoming; 
San Francisco Chemical Company, Montpeher, Idaho; and the Agri- 
cultural Experiment Stations of the States of IlUnois, Massachusetts, 
South Carolina, Missouri, and California. 

The prices shown for Western phosphate rock are approximations 
only, as there is practically no demand as yet in the Western states for 
ground phosphate rock. Such rock as is mined is shipped to Pacific 
coast points for use in manufacturing acid phosphate to be sold in the 
fruit and truck growing districts. The freight charges on phosphate 
rock in car lots will amount to $2.50 to $4.25 per ton from the Western 
mines to the various important agricultural districts of the Western 
states. The cost of grinding averages about 75 cents per ton. It may 
be estimated, therefore, that phosphate rock can be deUvered for $6.00 
to $9.00 per ton at all important agricultural centers of the West, when- 
ever it becomes apparent that there is a need for phosphate fertilizers 
in Western agriculture. 

The analyses shown in this table give the pounds of the elements, 
nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in one ton of fertilizing material. 
The terms used by manufacturers and chemists to describe fertiUzer 
analyses are not always similar and are, therefore, Ukely to be confusing. 
It is usually customary to guarantee nitrogen on the basis of the percent 
of the element nitrogen in the fertilizer material and not on the basis of 
any compounds containing this element, but a number of confusing 
terms are in use relative to phosphorus and potassium plant food. 
Sometimes fertilizers are guaranteed for calcium phosphate, at other 
times for phosphoric acid, and again for phosphorus. The simplest 
analysis would be on the basis of the element phosphorus, as both 
calcium phosphate and phosphoric acid are chemical compounds only 
a portion of which is actual phosphorus valuable for plant food. Any of 
these terms pertaming to phosphorus may be reduced to a common 
denominator by the following rules: calcium phosphate contains 45.8% 
ot phosphoric acid and 20% of phosphorus; and phosphoric acid con- 



FERTILIZERS— SOURCE AND VALUE 283 

tains 43%% of the element phosphorus. FertiUzer analyses commonly 
give the amount of potassium in terms of potash — a compound con- 
taining potassium. The amount of actual potassium in potash may be 
calculated by multiplying the potash analysis by .83. If an analysis of 
nitrogen is given in terms of ammonia it may be reduced to the nitrogen 
equivalent by multiplying the ammonia analysis by .823. 

Commercial fertilizers are sold on the basis of a definite guarantee 
for the percentage amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus or phosphoric acid, 
and potash which they contain. Price, therefore, varies to a large extent 
according to the analysis. For example: if ground phosphate rock analyz- 
ing 14% phosphorus is worth $4.00 per ton at the mines, rock analyzing 
10% phosphorus would be worth only $2.85 per ton. State laws and in- 
spection protect the purchaser from willful fraud in fertilizer analyses and 
provide for sale of fertilizers under analyses guaranteed by the manu- 
facturer. In the purchase of large quantities of commercial fertilizers 
it is usually wise to collect a representative sample of the material and 
submit it for analysis to the State officer authorized by law to inspect 
and analyze the fertilizers offered for sale in the territory under his 
jurisdiction. By so doing the purchaser may satisfy himself that 
neither error nor misrepresentation has prevented him from getting full 
value for his investment. 

In studying the comparative value of fertilizers there are three 
important factors to be considered by the purchaser, (1) the plant food 
deficiency of the soil needing amendment, (2) the use of the fertilizer for 
the immediate or future needs of crops and a consideration, therefore, of 
whether the fertilizer contains plant food in a readily available form or 
not, and (3) the cost per pound of the element of plant food it is desired 
to use in correcting the soil's deficiencies. 

The fertilizers shown in this table have been roughly divided into 
two groups on the basis of their availabihty to crops. Thus in the 
column headed "Plant Food Immediately Available to Crops or Not" 
the word "yes" is used for those fertihzers that may be apphed to the 
land just prior to crop planting and which contain the elements of plant 
food in readily soluble compounds that can be immediately absorbed 
by the roots of growing crops. In the same manner the word "no" is 
used to designate fertihzers which contain elements of plant food in 
compounds not soluble in water but in compounds that must be broken 
down through chemical change and reaction before the elements of 
plant food can be absorbed by the roots of crops. 



284 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

The price per ton is not the final index of value in a fertilizer, but 
rather the cost per pound of the desired elements of plant food, consid- 
ered in connection with the needs of the soil and the necessity or non- 
necessity for a fertilizer that contains immediately available forms of 
plant food. For the purposes of illustration let us compare the cost per 
pound of phosphorus and potassium in various fertiUzing materials, 
based on the market prices for fertilizers in Chicago territory as shown 
in this table. 

The cost of phosphorus in phosphate rock analyzing 13% phos- 
phorus, and costing $7.50 per ton, is 2.9 cents per pound; in acid phos- 
phate analyzing 7J^% phosphorus, and costing $18.00 per ton, 12 
cents per pound; in ground bone steamed analyzing 5 per cent phos- 
phorus, and costing $30.00 per ton, 30 cents per pound; and in an average 
"complete fertilizer" containing 2% nitrogen, 4% phosphorus, and 2% 
potash, and costing $30.00 per ton, 37 H cents per poimd. 

The cost of potassium in muriate of potash analyzing 50% potash, 
and costing $45.00 per ton, is 5.4 cents per pound; in sulphate of potash 
analyzing 48% potash, and costing $50.00 per ton, 6.1 cents per pound; 
in kainit analyzing 12% potash, and costing $16.00 per ton, 8 cents per 
pound; in a complete fertiUzer analyzing 2% potash, and costing $30.00 
per ton, 90 cents per pound; and in a complete fertiUzer analyzing 10% 
potash, and costing $35.00 per ton, 21.1 cents per pound. 

In the following paragraphs a brief summary of facts 
is given about the source, availability and use of the various 
kinds of standard commercial fertilizers. 

Phosphate Rock. Great deposits exist in the Southern 
states, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ken- 
tucky, Florida, and Virginia, that contain anywhere from 
30% to 70% of the compound calcium phosphate, or the 
equivalent of 6% to 14% of the element phosphorus. These 
phosphate rock deposits of the South are the chief source of 
the world's supply of phosphorus plant food available for 
soil amendment. Large exports of this rock are made to 
Europe and large amounts are also used in the United 
States. Phosphate rock deposits also exist in the Western 
states, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Montana, and, while 



FERTILIZERS— SOURCE AND VALUE 285 

little mining has as yet been done, the store of valuable 
plant food is there awaiting the day when the Western soils 
will need additions of phosphorus. 

The texture and composition of phosphate rock is by no 
means uniform. There are hard and soft rocks, rocks that 
are comparatively free from impurities, and other rocks 
that contain a large percentage of impurities. Thus the 
terms "high grade" and "low grade" phosphate rock are used 
to designate the comparative pureness of the rock as regards 
calcium phosphate, and as regards its freedom from im- 
purities. 

The term "raw phosphates" is often used to designate 
crushed phosphate rock just as it is taken from the mines 
and used as a fertilizer. In this form the phosphorus con- 
tained in the material is locked up in compounds that are 
unavailable to crop roots, and the phosphorus so added to 
soil is temporarily inert. In the presence of decaying or- 
ganic matter in the soil, however, the compounds of raw 
phosphate rock containing phosphorus will gradually under- 
go change until, in the course of a few years, the phosphorus 
will be found in soluble compounds available to crop roots. 

Phosphate rock, crushed, is a valuable source of phos- 
phorus to use in amending phosphorus deficiency, provided 
the deficiency is anticipated by several years, and the soil is 
abundantly supplied with organic matter to promote chemi- 
cal changes that will make the phosphorus available to crops. 
Phosphate rock is a fertilizing material that has no value to 
the truck farmer, or the grower of a special crop, who wants 
quick action from a fertilizer. It is a cheap source of phos- 
phorus to be used in connection with general farming as an 
amendment to a phosphorus deficiency in the soil. An 
application of 500 to 600 pounds of pulverized phosphate 
rock per acre every three years in a three-course rotation 



286 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

or 800 to 1,000 pounds per acre every five years in a five- 
course rotation will provide the soil with a bountiful supply of 
phosphorus and forestall any soil impoverishment due to a 
deficiency of phosphorus plant food. 

Acid Phosphate. This term is used in the commercial 
fertilizer trade to designate a material formed by treating 
pulverized phosphate rock with sulphuric acid. Approxi- 
mately equal parts of finely ground rock and sulphuric acid 
are brought together in leaden tanks. A chemical reaction 
takes place which forms a compound containing about 18% 
phosphoric acid or about 8% phosphorus that is quite soluble 
and that is readily available to the roots of crops, whereas 
the compounds of the rock containing phosphorus are in- 
soluble and unvailable to crop roots prior to treatment. 

Acid phosphate goes into solution easily in the soil and 
may be absorbed at once by growing crops. Large amounts 
of this readily available form of phosphorus are used to mix 
with other forms of plant food in the "complete fertilizer" 
made up for the use of the gardener and the special crop 
farmer who want a quick acting fertilizer. Acid phosphate 
is sometimes applied alone to soils that are greatly deficient 
in phosphorus. It is usually scattered over the soil and 
harrowed in prior to seeding at the rate of 100 to 400 pounds 
per acre, depending on the soil and the crop to be grown. 

Ground Bone Steamed. The bones of animals contain 
from 8% to 11% of the element phosphorus. Air dried 
bones, if crushed and ground fine, make an excellent phos- 
phate fertilizer, the phosphorus being somewhat more read- 
ily available to crop roots than the phosphorus compounds 
of raw phosphate rock. Bones are sometimes subjected to 
super-heated steam to remove the organic matter, and are 
then ground fine for fertilizer. Steamed bone meal contains 
from 10% to 13% of the element phosphorus and is a more 



FERTILIZERS— SOURCE AND VALUE 287 

active and available fertilizer than air dried bones, although 
the phosphorus compounds are not as soluble and readily 
available to crops as those in "acid phosphate," 

Ground bone steamed is a by-product of all meat packing 
plants that is of considerable importance. It is sometimes 
sold alone for a phosphate fertilizer and also treated with 
sulphuric acid and mixed with other materials in the "com- 
plete fertilizer." As a phosphate fertilizer, when untreated 
with sulphuric acid, it would be used in much the same 
manner as "raw phosphate rock." 

Sulphate of Potash is a high grade potash fertilizer pre- 
pared for the market chiefly from the crude deposits of vari- 
ous salts at Stassf urt, Germany. A good sample of sulphate 
of potash will contain from 45% to 50% potash, or 37% to 
41% of the element potassium. It is a very concentrated 
form of potash fertilizer and can be used without danger for 
all kinds of crops. It is readily available to growing crops. 
A top-dressing of 150 to 300 pounds per acre on soils known 
to be deficient in potash will provide available potash for 
several crops, depending on what crops are grown, root 
crops, for example, requiring much more potash than grain 
crops. 

Muriate of Potash is a manufactured product sometimes 
known as potassium chloride. The amount of potash it 
contains will range from 35% to 60%, the usual market 
standard being 50% potash, or 41.5% of the element potas- 
sium. It is also a concentrated form of potash fertilizer and 
is readily soluble and available to growing crops. For 
general garden and farm crops it is a cheap and quick acting 
potash fertilizer, but experience has shown that it is not the 
most desirable potash fertilizer for such crops as potatoes, 
sugar beets, and tobacco. When used in large amounts, it 
is likely to affect the quality of these crops unfavorably. 



288 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Muriate of potash is very extensively used on peaty land 
deficient in potash, and also on ordinary agricultural lands 
for grass and grain crops. It is applied in the same manner 
and amounts as sulphate of potash. 

Kainit is a mineral . taken from the Stassf urt mines in 
Germany. It is composed of several chemical compounds 
among which is potassium sulphate. An average sample of 
kainit contains about 12% potash, or about 10% of the ele- 
ment potassium. Kainit is one of the cheapest forms of 
potash fertilizer. It is readily soluble in water and avail- 
able to growing crops. It is extensively used as a potash 
fertilizer and also as a source of potash for the complete 
fertilizer. It must be applied in larger amounts per acre 
than sulphate of potash or muriate of potash; for it is not 
as concentrated a form of fertilizer. It would require 
approximately 800 pounds of kainit, for example, to supply 
as much potassium as is contained in 200 pounds of muriate 
of potash. 

Wood Ashes contain from 2% to 10% of potash (1.7% 
to 8.3% of the element potassium), .4% to 2% of phos- 
phorus, and 18% to 50% of lime. Hardwood ashes are 
much richer in potash and phosphorus than softwood ashes. 
Wood ashes are commonly regarded as a potash fertilizer 
only, but ashes from the hard woods contain an appreciable 
amount of phosphorus as well. When wood ashes have 
been leached, their fertilizer value is greatly diminished ; for 
the potash and phosphorus compounds are easily soluble in 
water and are easily leached away. Wood ashes have 
sufficient value as a fertilizer to make it worth while to con- 
serve them on any farm. The potash and phosphorus which 
they contain are readily soluble and available to crop roots, 
and to get the best results the ashes should be spread over 
land in the spring and harrowed in prior to seeding. A dress- 



FERTILIZERS— SOURCE AND VALUE 289 

ing of 150 pounds to 300 pounds per acre is usually sufficient, 
unless it is known that the soil is greatly deficient in this 
element of plant food, in which case a larger amount can be 
profitably used. Wood ashes on the average farm would 
bring the best results, if appUed to root crops such as potatoes, 
mangels or sugar beets, which draw heavily on potash as a 
source of plant food. 

Dried Blood is afertilizer by-product of slaughter houses. 
It is a nitrogen fertilizer and contains very little plant food 
other than nitrogen. When thoroughly dry, it contains 
from 6% to 13% of nitrogen. Dried blood ferments quickly 
in the soil and its nitrogen is quickly made available to grow- 
ing crops. It is a quick acting nitrogen fertilizer that may 
be used for truck crops, or on farm lands badly impoverished 
of nitrogen, where it is desired to quickly provide the soil 
with available nitrogen. 

The nitrogen of dried blood is easily lost by leaching, 
and, for that reason, it should not be applied to land in large 
amounts. Two hundred to three hundred pounds per acre 
is usually sufficient. Dried blood produces best results if 
it is available to crops in their early stages of growth. For 
this reason the best time to apply this fertilizer is just prior 
to seeding, working it into the soil thoroughly with the 
harrow. 

Tankage is also a fertilizer by-product of slaughter houses. 
It is composed of hide trimmings, hoofs, some blood and some 
bone. The fat and gelatin of this refuse matter are removed 
by treatment with super-heated steam, and the remaining 
refuse, after being dried, is ground and usually mixed with 
a little slaked lime to prevent rapid fermentation. 

Tankage contains from. 4% to 12% of nitrogen, and from 
3 % to 9% of phosphorus. The nitrogen of tankage is not so 
readily available to crops as that of dried blood nor the 

19 



290 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

phosphorus so readily available as the phosphorus in "acid 
phosphate." Nevertheless, in a moist soil, where chemical 
change is facilitated, the plant food in tankage is partly 
available to crops the same season in which it is applied 
to the land. 

Tankage is used mostly by truck gardeners, but has value 
also as a top-dressing for grass land or a source of phosphorus 
and nitrogen for badly impoverished plow land. A dressing 
of 200 to 300 pounds per acre is usually sufficient, and the 
best method of application is to harrow it into the soil 
several days before planting time. 

Sulphate of Ammonia is a by-product obtained in the 
manufacture of illuminating gas. It contains about 20% 
of nitrogen. Sulphate of ammonia is extensively sold as a 
nitrogen fertilizer. The nitrogen contained in it is readily 
available to crops. An application of 100 to 200 pounds 
per acre on impoverished farm lands is sufficient to provide 
a crop with available nitrogen. 

Nitrate of Soda, also known as Chili saltpeter, is mined 
extensively from natural deposits in Chili and Peru. The 
chief industry of these two countries, in fact, is the mining 
and exporting of nitrate of soda. It contains, on the average, 
about 16% of nitrogen. It is very soluble in water and is 
the most readily available to crops of all the forms of nitro- 
gen plant food. Because of its solubility, large applications 
of this fertilizer cannot be profitably made; for those amounts 
of nitrogen in excess of what the crop takes up are .very 
likely to be leached away. About 150 to 250 pounds per 
acre is all that can be economically applied without danger 
of excessive loss from leaching. 

Nitrate of soda is used extensively as the nitrogen part 
of the manufactured "complete fertilizer," and is also used 
in market gardening to force early growth. Its chief value, 



FERTILIZERS— SOURCE AND VALVE 291 

in fact, is as an extremely quick acting nitrogen fertilizer 
that can be used by the market gardener to force early truck 
crops. 

Average Manufactured Complete Fertilizer. The so- 
called "complete fertilizer" is a combination of materials 
containing available forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and 
potassium, the three most essential elements of plant food. 
In the manufacturing of the complete fertilizer the pro- 
portionate amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, 
are made to vary according to the soil and crops of the region 
where sales are contemplated. 

The most common materials used for the complete 
fertilizer are nitrate of soda, to supply nitrogen; acid phos- 
phate, to supply phosphorus; and kainit, to supply potas- 
sium. A highly concentrated and available complete 
fertilizer would be one made of sulphate of ammonia, sul- 
phate of potash, and acid phosphate. A less concentrated, 
comparatively cheap complete fertilizer, with the plant 
food somewhat less readily available, could be made from 
tankage, ground bone steamed and kainit. 

The complete fertilizer is manufactured and sold on the 
theory that most farmers do not thoroughly understand 
the problems of soil fertility, the amendment of plant food 
deficiencies in the soil, or the use of raw materials containing 
plant food which might be used to correct soil deficiencies, 
and, therefore, a complete fertilizer, pulverized fine, sacked, 
and guaranteed to contain available forms of all necessary 
kinds of plant food is the safest and best cormnercial ferti- 
lizer for the average farmer to purchase and use. 

Without doubt this theory of the complete fertilizer is 
correct: otherwise the demand for it would not exist to so 
great an extent. But, in most cases, the purchase and use 
of the complete fertilizer is an uamecessary farming expense 



292 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

that puts more profit in the manufacturer's pocket than in 
the farmer's. There are conditions in market gardening 
and occasionally in general farming where the use of the 
complete fertilizer is warranted; but, generally speaking, 
the complete fertilizer is an expensive combination of plant 
food. If a soil is in special need of potassium or phosphorus, 
for example, the correction of this deficiency is more cheaply 
made with the special fertilizing material containing the 
desired plant food than with the complete fertilizer contain- 
ing several forms of plant food, some of which are not essen- 
tial to the productivity of this particular soil. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) Where are your nearest sources of supply for ground limestone, 

ground phosphate rock, acid phosphate, potash fertilizers, and 
packing house by-product fertihzers? 

(2) What is the freight rate on a carload of ground limestone from the 

mines or nearest distributing center to your local railway town? 
What is the car rate on ground phosphate rock and kainit? 
What is the rate per cwt. on tankage, ground bone, dried 
blood, acid phosphate, muriate of potash, sulphate of potash? 

(3) If a ton of ground phosphate rock analyzing 16% phosphorus can 

be purchasea at the mines for $4.50 per ton, what is a ton of 
ground rock worth that analyzes 9% phosphorus? 

(4) What is the cost per pound of phosphorus in ground phosphate 

rock analyzing 14% phosphorus and costing $8.00 per ton 
dehvered? In acid phosphate analyzing 7% phosphorus and 
costing $18.00 per ton? In ground bone steamed analyzing 10% 
phosphorus and costing $28.00 per ton? In Thomas Slag 
Phosphate analyzing 7% phosphorus and costing $18.00 per 
ton? In tankage analyzing 5% phosphorus and costing $30.00 
per ton? In a complete fertihzer analyzing 2% phosphorus and 
costing $30.00 per ton? 

(5) What is the cost per pound of potassium in sulphate of potash 

analyzing 35% potassium and costing $50.00 per ton? In 
muriate of potash analyzing 41 3^2% potassium and costing $45.00 
per ton? In kainit analyzing 10% potassium and costing 



FERTILIZERS— SOURCE AND VALUE 



293 



$16.00 per ton? In a complete fertilizer analyzing 3% 
potassium and costing $30.00 per ton? 

(6) What is the cost per pound of nitrogen in dried blood analyzing 

12% nitrogen and costing $60.00 per ton? In tankage analyzing 
8% nitrogen and costing $30.00 per ton? In nitrate of soda 
analyzing 15% nitrogen and costing $60.00 per ton? In a com- 
plete fertilizer analyzing 2% nitrogen and costing $30.00 per 
ton? 

(7) How many pounds of phosphorus are in a ton of acid phosphate 

analyzing 16% phosphoric acid? In a ton of ground bone 
steamed analyzing 47% calcium phosphate? See page 283. 

(8) How many pounds of potassium are there in a ton of kainit ana- 

lyzing 12% potash? In a ton of sulphate of potash analyzing 
40% potash? See page 283. 

(9) How many pounds of nitrogen in a ton of complete fertilizer ana- 

lyzing 4% ammonia? See page 283. 




Photo by courtesy Beaver Dam Mfg. Co. 
Grain drill with grass seeding attachment. This machine provides the best 
method for sowing grasses wherever its use is possible. 



CHAPTER VI 

ECONOMICAL USE OF COMMERCIAL 

FERTILIZERS 

Considering general systems of farming only and the 
production of such staple field crops as corn, cotton, wheat, 
oats, barley, flax, potatoes, clover, timothy, and alfalfa, 
there is no need for the use of commercial fertilizers so long 
as the reserve supplies of plant food in the soil are abundant 
and made available to crops by means of crop rotation, 
green manures, and thorough tillage. The necessity for 
commercial fertilizers arises only when a naturally fertile 
soil has been improperly cropped for a long period of time 
and a deficiency of plant food created, or on a soil in which 
some important element of plant food is naturally deficient. 
Commercial fertilizers in general agriculture are mainly 
needed to amend or correct certain plant food deficiencies in 
the soil, and, as a rule, their use is actually or comparatively 
unprofitable, unless they are applied after a careful study of 
the soil's weaknesses and in such kind and amount as to 
remedy these weaknesses. 

Maximum results with commercial fertiUzers at the mini- 
mum cost are secured only (1) when the fertilizer used pro- 
vides the element of plant food most needed by the soil and 
which is the limiting factor in crop production; (2) when 
the fertilizer is bought in such form as to give the minimum 
cost per pound of actual plant food; and (3) when the ferti- 
lizer is used in combination with farming methods that keep 
the soil well supplied with organic matter and in the best 
possible physical condition. These factors bearing on the 
profitable use of commercial fertilizers are fully explained in 



FERTILIZERS— ECONOMICAL USE 295 

the following paragraphs as well as the best methods for the 
apphcation of fertilizers to land. 

The Draft of Field Crops on the Important Elements of 
Plant Food in the Soil. The food requirements of crops 
are revealed by analyses of plant substance. Corn, for 
example, just prior to maturity, contains about eighty per 
cent water and twenty per cent dry matter. In percentage 
amounts of the original plant substance the dry matter con- 
tains about two per cent of nitrogenous organic compounds, 
such as protein (of which about one sixth is pure nitrogen) ; 
about sixteen per cent of non-nitrogenous organic com- 
pounds, such as starch, sugar, and fiber; and about two per 
cent of ash, or mineral matter, that remains when the dry 
matter is burned. 

The non-nitrogenous organic compounds of the plant, as 
well as approximately five sixths of the nitrogenous organic 
compounds, are chiefly composed of carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen, which the plant obtains from the carbon dioxide of 
the air and the water in the soil. The small amount of 
actual nitrogen in plant substance is derived from nitrogen 
salts in the soil, or partly from atmospheric nitrogen in case 
of legume crops. The ash of plant substance is derived 
from solutions of mineral matter in the soil. The greater 
part is of abundant elements, such as silicon, iron, chlorin, 
sodium, magnesia, and calcium; the smaller part is of less 
abundant elements, such as phosphorus and potassium. 

The relative importance of these various forms of plant 
food has been determined by feeding them in various com- 
binations to plants growing in water or sterilized sand. Such 
tests have shown that the relatively small amounts of nitro- 
gen, phosphorus, and potassium in plant substance are the 
forms of plant food most essential to plant growth and 
most likely to hmit soil productivity. See Table II. 



296 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Table II. The Amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium 
Removed from the Soil by Certain Typical Field Crops. 



CROPS 


Pounds Plant Food Removed per Acre 


Kind 


Amount 
per Acre 


Nitrogen 


Phosphorus 


Potassium 


Corn (grain) 


100 bu. 
3 T. 


100 
48 

148 

68 
31 

97 

71 
25 

96 

72 
*160 
*130 
*400 
* 7 

63 
100 

46 

3 

63 

66 


17 
6 

23 

li 

5 

16 

12 

4 

16 

9 
20 
14 
36 

2 
13 
18 

3.5 

0.57 
10.63 


19 


Corn (Stover) 


52 


Total 




71 


Oats (grain) 


100 bu. 

2>^T. 


16 


Oats (straw) 


52 






Total 




68 


Wheat (grain) 

Wheat (straw) 

Total 


50 bu. 

2iiT. 


13 
45 

58 


Timothy hay 


3T. 
4T. 
3T. 
ST. 
4bu. 
300 bu. 
20 T. 

1000 lbs. 

1000 lbs. 
2000 lbs. 


71 


Clover hay 


120 


Cowpea hay 


98 


Alf aljf a hay 


192 


Clover seed 


3 


Potatoes 


90 


Sugar beets 


157 


Tobacco (leaf and 
stalks) 


30 


Cotton (lint) 


3.5 


Cotton (seed) 


19.3 


Total (2 bales).. 


3000 lbs. 


11.20 


22.8 



Note: This table shows the approximate amounts of plant 
food removed from the soil by large yields of staple American field 
crops. The amounts of plant food removed will vary, of course, with 
the crop yields. Such variations may not be exactly proportional to 
yield, but for approximate calculations they may be considered so. 

*The amount of nitrogen actually removed from the soil by leg- 
ume crops varies greatly with the soil, the number of nitrogen gather- 



FERTILIZERS— ECONOMICAL USE 297 

ing bacteria in the soil, and the methods of disposing of the crop. 
On medium fertile, well inoculated soil, it is usually estimated that 
legumes draw about two thirds of their nitrogen from the air and one 
third from the soil. When legumes are cut for hay about one third 
of the total nitrogen content of the crop remains in the stubble and 
roots, while two thirds is removed in the hay. Thus, as a rule, when 
legume crop stubble and roots are plowed under there is neither loss 
or gain in soil nitrogen, but if the hay be fed to stock and the manure 
returned to the soil, or if the top part of the crop be plowed under 
as a green manure, there is an increase made to the soil's supply of nitro- 
gen by reason of the amounts of atmospheric nitrogen which the crop 
has assimilated. 

The food requirements of tobacco shown in this table are taken 
from Bulletin 139 of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station; 
of cotton from Circular 583, Farmers' Co-operative Demonstration 
Work of the United States Department of Agriculture; and of all other 
crops from Bulletin 123 of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station. 

The Indiscriminate Use of Commercial Fertilizers, Espe- 
cially the Complete Fertilizer. The art of securing maximum 
profits from the use of commercial fertihzers is not based on 
the practice of supplying the soil with the estimated amounts 
of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium removed by a given crop. 
Because a 100 bushel corn crop, for example, is known to 
remove from the soil about 148 pounds of nitrogen, 23 pounds 
of phosphorus, and 71 pounds of potassium, it does not 
follow that fertilizers should be applied to the land in such 
quantities as to annually provide these amounts of plant 
food. To do this would entail heavy expense, and use would 
not be made of the, free nitrogen of the atmosphere and the 
reserve supplies of plant food in the soil that may be prepared 
for the use of crops by means of crop rotation, legume crop 
green manures, and thorough tillage. In other words, the 
expense for fertilizers would be made unnecessarily high 
by the amounts of plant food purchased in the fertilizer 
that could have been secured at less cost by the aid of 
legume crops and good farm practice. 

In the majority of cases the purchase of complete fer- 
tilizers involves the purchase of some plant food that could 



298 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

be provided, if necessary, at far less cost in other fertilizers, 
or that is not essential to the maximum productivity of the 
land. Rarely are soils so impoverished of plant food as to 
have their productivity limited by all three of the important 
elements of plant food, i. e., nitrogen, phosphorus, and potas- 
sium. In the great majority of cases phosphorus is the 
limiting factor in productivity, although there are cases 
where nitrogen or potassium or lime is the form of plant 
food so greatly lacking as to limit the soil's productivity. 
For these reasons the purchase of a complete fertilizer is 
quite likely to involve the purchase of uimecessary plant 
food and thus cause an expense of crop production from 
which there is no profitable return. 

Let us illustrate this matter relative to the indiscriminate 
use of complete fertilizers by means of fertilizer cost figures 
taken from Table I for Chicago territory. Suppose that an 
attempt is made to purchase enough plant food in complete 
fertilizer to provide the amounts of plant food taken up by a 
100 bushel corn crop (148 lbs. nitrogen, 23 lbs. phosphorus, 
and 71 lbs. potassium). The average complete fertiUzer 
sold in the United States for $25.00 to $30.00 per ton, con- 
tains about 33 pounds of nitrogen, 70 pounds of phosphorus, 
and 33 pounds of potassium in one ton. Thus, at $30.00 
per ton, it would require about 43/2 tons of fertihzer costing 
$135.00 to supply sufficient nitrogen; about }/s ton costing 
$10.00, to supply sufficient phosphorus; and about 2K tons 
costing $65.00, to supply sufficient potassium. A complete 
fertilizer specially mixed to correspond to this formula (the 
draft of a 100 bu. per acre corn crop) would cost at least 
$50.00 per ton and per acre. From these figures it may 
easily be seen that ordinary field crops cannot be profitably 
produced on the plant food contained in the complete fer- 
tilizer. An attempt to feed a crop all of its plant food from 



FERTILIZERS— ECONOMICAL USE 299 

a sack of complete fertilizer would most surely result in a 
loss to the producer. The cost of the plant food, so ob- 
tained, plus the costs for seed, plowing, planting, cultiva- 
ting, and harvesting, would usually be so much in excess of 
the crop's value as to preclude any possibility of profit. 

The figures in the preceding paragraph are given merely 
for the purpose of illustrating an extreme and theoretical 
example in regard to the use of commercial fertilizers and to 
show the utter impossibility of profitably feeding ordinary 
field crops all of their plant food out of a sack. In actual 
farm practice and in the growing of our staple field crops no 
attempt is ever made to actually supply the soil with the 
total amounts of plant food necessary to the production of a 
full crop. The common practice in districts using com- 
plete fertihzers is to apply 200 to 500 pounds per acre 
aimually of the fertilizer. The fertilizer formulas are made 
to vary somewhat according to the crop grown — the percent- 
age amount of potassium being comparatively higher in 
complete fertilizers used for tobacco and potatoes, and the 
percentage amount of nitrogen and phosphorus being com- 
paratively higher in the so-called grass and grain fertilizers. 
Now, let us see the effect which an application of 500 lbs. of 
average complete fertilizer would have on the plant food 
requirements of a 100 bushel corn crop. The 500 pounds of 
average complete fertilizer, costing about $7.50, would 
contain 8.2 pounds of nitrogen, 17.5 pounds of phosphorus, 
and 8.3 pounds of potassium (in a fertilizer analyzing 2% 
ammonia, 8% phosphoric acid, and 2% potash). The entire 
inadequacy of such a fertilizer to supply the nitrogen and 
potassium .requirements of a 100 bushel corn crop, or even a 
40 or 50 bushel crop, may be easily seen. The amount of 
phosphorus, while nearly adequate, could be supplied in 
about one seventh of a ton of acid phosphate costing about 



300 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

$2.50, or in about one twelfth of a ton of rock phosphate 
costing about 65 cents. 

The cost of plant food in the complete fertilizer is always 
high when compared with the cost of more simple fertilizing 
materials carrying nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium. If 
it is known that the soil is limited in its productivity on ac- 
count of a phosphorus deficiency, phosphorus can be pur- 
chased cheaper in either rock phosphate, acid phosphate, 
or bone meal, than in the complete fertilizer. The same 
truth applies to either nitrogen or potassium deficiencies and 
their correction. In fact, the purchase of nitrogen and potas- 
sium in the complete fertiUzer is commonly a pure waste of 
money, because the use of legume crops and good farm 
practice will provide these elements of plant food at Uttle 
or no cost. Instances where nitrogen and potassium 
fertilizers can be used profitably are pointed out in 
succeeding paragraphs, but even in such instances the 
complete fertilizer is not a profitable carrier of these 
elements of plant food. In so far as cost is to be con- 
sidered in the selection and use of fertilizers the complete 
fertilizer is an expensive carrier of the elements of plant 
food, and the farmer who fertilizes his land from a sack of 
manufactured complete fertilizer is forcing his business to 
carry an unnecessary burden of expense. 

There is reliable evidence to show a net profit resulting 
from the use of complete fertilizers, but it can also be shown 
that, where net profits were secured by the use of complete 
fertilizers, better net profits were secured by correcting the 
plant food deficiencies of the soil with cheaper fertilizers 
carrying the needed plant food. Good business manage- 
ment demands that production costs shall be kept at the 
minimum. A high net profit is as much the result of low 
cost as of high gross income, and the farmer who attempts 



FERTILIZERS— ECONOMICAL USE 301 

to correct the plant food deficiencies of his soil with complete 
fertilizers is not destined to produce his crops at the mini- 
mum cost. 

The comparatively high cost of plant food in the com- 
plete fertilizer is by no means the only drawback to its 
use. Wherever the use of complete fertilizers becomes a 
fixed feature of agriculture the effect on the ultimate pro- 
ductivity of the soil and on the systems of farming that 
grow up is deleterious to a marked degree. The application 
of complete fertilizers in such amounts as only partially 
meet the plant food requirements of crops tends to stimulate 
the absorption of plant food from the reserve supplies in 
the soil at a rapid rate during the early periods of such fer- 
tilizing methods. This results in ultimate unproductivity, 
unless the amounts of fertilizer are increased in proportion 
to the subtractions made from the reserve supplies of the 
soil, or unless the systems of farming and fertilizing are 
changed. The continuous application of complete fertilizers 
also reduces rapidly the humus supplies of the soil, forms a 
hard gritty metallic-like soil, and creates acid soils that 
need neutralizing with lime. In the older agricultural regions 
of the United States of America many soils are to be found 
that are almost entirely devoid of organic matter, in a poor 
physical condition, and with their available and reserve 
supplies of nitrogen and phosphorus reduced to a very low 
point from the long continued use of complete fertilizers. 
In this condition heavy applications of complete fertilizer 
are needed to get any kind of a crop. 

Furthermore, the use of complete fertilizers tends to 
thwart the best farming and cropping systems. There is 
no reason for this, but it is a matter of fact nevertheless. 
Apparently the complete fertilizer becomes a staff of support 
to the farmer who gets into the habit of using it. He places 



302 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

too much reliance on the power of the fertiUzer to make a 
good crop, and too httle reUance on crop rotation, farm ma- 
nures, legume green manure crops, and thorough tillage. The 
complements of the complete fertilizer in American agri- 
culture are usually continuous cropping and little if any 
use of farm manures, legume green manure crops or legume 
meadow and pasture crops. Eventually the farmer who 
places his reliance in complete fertilizers for the production 
of profitable crops will face increasing fertilizer bills and 
decreasing crop yields, because a system of farming based 
on the plant food of the complete fertilizer is inherently 
wrong. In the older agricultural regions there are thous- 
ands of farms that have been made comparatively unpro- 
ductive from the long continued use of the complete 
fertilizer. By means of crop rotation, green manure 
legume crops, thorough tillage, and the addition of a 
bountiful supply of phosphorus the productivity of most 
of these soils could soon be increased very greatly. 

It may be said that this picture of the deleterious effects 
on the soil from the use of complete fertilizers is overdrawn, 
and that the complete fertilizer will bring good results with 
no injury to the soil, if used in connection with crop rotation, 
green manures and animal manures. Undoubtedly many of 
the injurious effects on soil produced by continuous cropping 
and the complete fertilizer would be avoided, if the complete 
fertilizer were used in connection with crop rotation, green 
manure crops, and animal manures. But, even if there is need 
to correct some plant food deficiency in the soil by means of 
a commercial fertilizer, where is the advantage to be gained 
in purchasing nitrogen in the complete fertilizer at thirty to 
ninety cents per pound, when it can be had for tempo- 
rary use in nitrate of soda for fifteen to twenty cents per 
pound, and free of cost in a permanently projected scheme 



FERTILIZERS— ECONOMICAL USE 303 

of agriculture by means of legume crops that can use the 
nitrogen gas in the atmosphere? Phosphorus costing thirty 
to forty cents per pound in the complete fertilizer can be 
purchased for about three cents per pound in ground phos- 
phate rock. Potassium costing thirty to ninety cents per 
pound in the complete fertilizer can be purchased in mu- 
riate of potash for five to six cents per pound, in sulphate 
of potash for six to seven cents per pound, in kainit for 
seven to nine cents per pound, and can be liberated from 
the reserve supplies of most soils in the United States free 
of cost by means of crop rotation, green manure crops, 
farm manures and thorough tillage. 

Conditions in General Agriculture Warranting the Use 
of the Complete Fertilizer. There are certain conditions, 
perhaps, in the practice of general agriculture where the 
complete fertilizer can be used to advantage. For example, 
a farmer purchases a farm having impoverished soil, and yet 
the farm is desirable on account of other considerations, 
such as roads, markets, and schools. He plans to establish 
a permanent system of farming that will build up this soil 
to a high state of productivity and keep it productive. 
This system of farming which he will employ includes the 
use of crop rotation, green manures and animal manures, 
to provide and maintain the supply of humus and nitrogen, 
and to liberate potassium from the reserve supplies of the 
soil. He plans to add phosphorus plant food to the soil 
in abundance for maximum crops by means of ground phos- 
phate rock in which the actual phosphorus will cost but 
three cents per pound. Now, the establishing of a system of 
farming such as this cannot be accomplished in the twink- 
ling of an eye. Raw phosphate rock is not immediately avail- 
able to crops and its change to soluble and available forms 
of phosphorus is very slow, unless the soil is abundantly 



304 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

supplied with decaying organic matter. The production 
of organic matter and nitrogen for this soil may be severely 
checked by a lack of available nitrogen, phosphorus, and 
potassium to give the "humus producing, nitrogen gathering" 
legume crops a good start. 

Such a soil condition would give an opportunity for the 
use of a comiDlete fertilizer for a year or two until the cheaper 
and more permanent scheme of soil building was under way. 
The complete fertilizer could be used advantageously to 
produce a heavy green manure crop to plow under and give 
an impetus to the permanent work of soil improvement. 
As soon as the soil had its available supplies of potassium 
released from the hitherto unavailable supplies in the soil, 
its nitrogen provided from the free nitrogen of the air, and 
its available phosphorus released from the cheap, raw phos- 
phate rock added to the soil, there would be no further need 
for the expensive plant food of the complete fertilizer. 

Of course, even under these conditions which may 
justify the use of the complete fertilizer as a temporary 
expedient, the same temporary feeding of crops can be 
accomplished at less cost through the purchase of available 
forms of plant food, as needed, in acid phosphate, muriate 
of potash, and nitrate of soda. An eight to ten ton dressing 
of farm manure per acre, mixed with about 250 to 300 pounds 
of acid phosphate, would start off a corn crop or a grain 
nurse crop with a legume catch crop, as well as, or better 
than, an expensive application of 300 to 600 pounds per 
acre of complete fertilizer. Also for quick results with 
grain, potato, or other crops, the needs of the crop can 
be temporarily met with applications of acid phosphate, 
muriate of potash, kainit, and nitrate of soda, in various 
amounts and combinations according to the crop and con- 
dition of soil at less cost than with the complete fertilizer. 



FERTILIZERS— ECONOMICAL USE 305 

Fertilizer Efficiency Dependent on Good Farming. The 
efficiency of commercial fertilizers is almost in direct pro- 
portion to the character of farming that accompanies their 
use. When commercial fertilizers are judiciously used as 
an adjunct to good tillage, crop rotation including legume 
crops, green manures, and animal manures, the maximum 
efficiency of the fertilizer will be realized in the production 
of crops. If too much reliance is placed on the fertilizer and 
too little attention given to the art of good farming, the 
efficiency of the fertilizer is greatly lessened. Good farming, 
so far as soil fertility is concerned, is essentially those prac- 
tices that provide for a good physical condition in the soil, 
for the maintenance of an abundant supply of humus, for 
maintaining the soil's supply of nitrogen by means of legume 
crops that utilize atmospheric nitrogen, and for the use of 
some live stock to check the sale of plant food from the soil 
in large amounts. 

These practices are the basis of permanent and profitable 
agriculture. Sometimes good farming needs supplementing 
with soil amendment to produce the best results, and when 
the commercial fertilizer is correctly used for this purpose 
it is efficient and profitable. 

The indiscriminate use of commercial fertilizers, without 
proper consideration for good farming, or the soil deficien- 
cies that good farming cannot correct, is more likely to result 
in loss than in profit. The commercial fertilizer has its 
place in the permanent, profitable system of agriculture 
for many soils; but its place is subordinate to that of good 
farming and its value dependent on the character of farming 
associated with its use. 



20 



CHAPTER VII 

USE AND APPLICATION OF COMMERCIAL 
FERTILIZERS 

Lime Fertilizers, Use and Application. Soils rich in 
lime compounds are well known to be very productive 
wheat and legume crop soils. Legume crops, such as clover 
and alfalfa, remove large amounts of lime from the soil and 
are often called "lime loving plants." 

Lime takes a very important part in the fertility of the 
soil, not so much because it is a very essential form of plant 
food as because it functions as a neutralizing agent that 
combines with and neutralizes the acids that are contin- 
uously being formed in the soil from the decay of organic 
matter. All cultivated soils tend to become acid in nature, 
unless the natural supply of lime in the soil was very great. 
When a soil becomes somewhat deficient in lime and, there- 
fore, acid in nature, productivity is greatly checked for many 
crops, especially clover, alfalfa, and other legumes, that do 
not thrive well in an acid soil. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and 
potassium may all be present in the soil in abundant amounts 
for good crops, and yet poor crops will result if Ume is absent, 
and there is, therefore, an acid soil condition. An abun- 
dance of lime in the soil is desirable and essential to high 
fertility. 

Lime also has a favorable effect on the physical condition 
of soils. In heavy clay soils an application of lime causes 
the cementing together of many groups of fine soil particles 
into compound particles of somewhat larger size, and thus 
the porosity and friableness of the soil are bettered. In a 



FERTILIZERS— V8E AND APPLICATION 307 

sandy soil an application of lime improves capillarity and 
the water holding capacity of the soil as well as increases the 
productivity of the sandy soil for legume crops, which, in 
turn, improve the physical texture, especially when plowed 
under. In many of the older prairie regions of the United 
States where it is well known that clover does not thrive 
as well now as formerly, lime is often the fertilizing material 
that should receive the first consideration. When tests 
reveal soil acidity, the first step to be taken in building up 
the productivity of the soil and establishing a permanent, 
profitable system of agriculture, is to thoroughly lime the 
land and increase its productivity for clover or other legume. 
Clover and other legume crops will not grow well in acid 
soit, and thus, if an acid soil checks the production of legume 
crops, the benefits to be derived from humus producing and 
nitrogen gathering crops are lost, and lime is the limiting 
factor in the soil's productivity. 

It is well known that land plaster (sometimes called 
sulphate of lime or gypsum), fresh burned lime and fresh 
slaked lime, are active stimulants in the soil that release 
potassium and phosphorus from the reserve supplies in the 
soil through hastening the decomposition of soil. On natu- 
rally rich soils well supplied with organic matter an applica- 
tion of these forms of lime will stimulate the soil to high 
productivity through the liberation of available plant food 
from the reserve supphes in the soil. For this reason the 
proverb has arisen "Lime makes the father rich but the son 
poor." The proverb is true enough, unless the system of 
farming provides for maintaining the humus and nitrogen 
supphes of the soil by means of animal manures and legume 
crops, and the supply of phosphorus by means of commercial 
fertilizers, in which case the son may become as rich as the 
father through the use of lime on his land. 



308 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

In general, there is no necessity for the use of a lime 
fertilizer except to correct soil acidity. Soil acidity when 
very marked, is detected by inserting a small piece of blue 
litmus paper into a sample of soil. If the blue paper quickly 
turns red the soil is acid. Another simple method for de- 
tecting marked soil acidity is the ammonia test. This is 
performed as follows: fill a drinking glass about two thirds 
full of rain water (soft water), add a teaspoonful of the soil 
to be tested and a teaspoonful of strong ammonia. Stir 
thoroughly and allow to settle. If the liquid turns black 
or dark brown the soil is acid and in need of lime. Slight 
discoloration of the liquid would show such a small degree 
of acidity that the need of lime would be problematical. Un- 
less acidity, as revealed by these tests, is very marked, it is 
well to proceed slowly with the purchase and use of lime. 
Experiment with a strip of Umed land in a clover or alfalfa 
field and note the results. A test of this kind is far superior 
to the litmus paper and ammonia tests in revealing the needs 
of a soil for Ume. Failure of clover, or poor clover crops, 
on old land, is also an index to soil acidity, although this 
test is not infallible. 

In correcting soil acidity the choice of the kind of Ume 
fertilizer to be used should depend on the cost and availabil- 
ity of the material. Ground limestone, marl, fresh burned 
lime, air slaked lime, and water slaked lime, can all be success- 
fully used, though not similarly, for the purpose of correcting 
soil acidity. 

Ground limestone and old air slaked lime are the safest 
and usually the cheapest materials to use. Either one of 
these materials will correct soil acidity, but will have little 
if any effect as a soil stimulant acting on the soil's reserve 
supplies of plant food. Either of these materials can be 
applied to the land at any season of the year most convenient 



FERTILIZERS— USK AND APPLICATION 309 

to the farmer, with no danger to crops. If spread in winter 
on sloping lands, some leaching may take place that could be 
avoided by spreading at some other season. The best time 
to spread a lime fertilizer, providing time permits, is in the 
spring of the year shortly before seeding time. The lime 
can be disked and harrowed into fall plowing or spread on 
stubble ground and plowed under, if spring plowing is to be 
practiced. Lime can be spread on land in the autumn just 
prior to fall plowing if desired, or, if time does not permit the 
doing of the work in either autumn or spring, it can be done 
during the winter months by scattering the lime on stubble 
ground to be spring plowed, or on fall plowing that is to be sur- 
face worked in the spring. Ground limestone or old air slaked 
lime can be applied to land in unlimited amounts with no 
danger to crops. Two tons per acre distributed every four 
to six years will usually be sufficient to sweeten an acid soil 
and keep it sweet and productive. Larger amounts at great- 
er intervals of time can be applied, however, with no danger 
of injuring the productivity of the land. 

Marl (a mixture of disintegrated limestone and clay and 
containing lime, phosphorus, and some potassium) is an 
excellent form of lime fertilizer. It is commonly found in 
many of the Northern regions of the United States, under- 
lying peat beds. No better fertilizer can be had at any price 
for the light, sandy soils of large areas in the Northern tim- 
bered areas of the United States than a mixture of peat 
and marl that can be dug out of the drained lowlands. A 
thorough application of marl and peat, or marl and animal 
manures, to a light soil will greatly improve the physical 
condition of the soil, amend the natural phosphorus deficien- 
cies, and promote the liberation of plant food from the 
reserve supplies in the soil, thus increasing productivity. 
Thousands of tons of this valuable fertilizer are scattered 



310 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

throughout the glaciated areas of the Northern part of the 
United States, and at small expense the productivity of 
many farms could be greatly increased by its use. 

Fresh burned lime, water slaked lime, and land plaster 
all contain a higher percentage of lime (calcium) than lime- 
stone, old air slaked lime, or marl, and, if used as fertilizers, 
should be applied in smaller amounts than limestone or marl. 
Eight hundred to twelve hundred pounds per acre every four 
or five years is usually a sufficient amount to correct all soil 
acidity and to supply crops with lime. All these forms of 
Ume fertilizers are more or less caustic in nature and should 
not be applied to land after crops have been seeded, as the 
young vegetation may suffer injury. Whenever fresh burned 
lime, water slaked lime, or land plaster is to be used as a 
fertihzer, the material should be scattered on the land in the 
autumn, winter, or early spring, and plowed or harrowed 
into the land thoroughly before seeding. 

In using lime fertilizers it is usually thought best not 
to apply lime to a soil in the same year that it is planned to 
distribute raw phosphate rock or bone meal, as the lime 
tends to retard temporarily the availability of the phos- 
phorus. A better plan is to lime first and follow with the 
phosphate fertilizers in succeeding years. 

Phosphate Fertilizers, Use and Application. It has been 
previously pointed out that natural phosphate rock is the 
cheapest of all carriers of phosphorus, but that the phos- 
phorus which it contains is not immediately available to 
crops. Natural phosphate rock is the logical material to 
employ in correcting the phosphorus deficiencies of a soil 
and to give permanence to the soil's productivity at the 
minimum expense. In the improvement and renovation 
of worn out land that is in need of fertihzer amendments, 
however, there are many instances where it is profitable to 



FERTILIZERS— USE AND APPLICATION 311 

use an available form of phosphate fertilizer, such as acid 
phosphate, to supply crops liberally with phosphorus until 
it can be made available from natural phosphate rock. 

Experience and experimentation have clearly shown that 
a liberal supply of organic matter in the soil is essential to 
the processes that make available to crops the phosphorus 
of natural rock phosphate, also that legumes have greater 
power to assimilate phosphorus from raw rock fertilizer 
than such crops as wheat, corn, cotton or potatoes. 

It may be easily inferred from these facts that the best 
plan to follow in correcting the phosphorus deficiencies of 
a badly worn soil is, first, to use a sufficient application of 
available phosphorus (acid phosphate) to grow a legume 
green manure crop (sown, if desired, with a nurse crop of 
grain) that can be plowed under in connection with a heavy 
dressing of natural phosphate rock, and, then, to put a crop 
of clover on the land as soon thereafter as possible. After 
Buch preliminary steps have been taken and the soil is well 
supplied with organic matter and phosphorus in natural 
rock phosphate, there will be no further need for the use 
of expensive phosphate fertilizers such as acid phosphate. 
The real value of acid phosphate lies in its availability for 
the quick stimulation of some "nitrogen gathering, humus 
producing" crop that is essential to the cheap amendment 
of nitrogen deficiencies in the soil as well as for the liberation 
of phosphorus from natural rock phosphate. 

On many soils where phosphorus is not yet very deficient, 
but where greater crops could doubtlessly be produced, if 
the soil were more hberally supplied with it, there is no need 
for profit in the use of acid phosphate. A liberal application 
of natural rock phosphate in connection with a green manure 
crop or with barnyard manure will accomplish the desired 
results at minimum cost. 



312 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

In applying acid phosphate to land it is not advisable 
to apply it in large amounts and at infrequent intervals, 
because the excess of phosphates will become fixed in insolu- 
ble compounds unavailable to crops. It is best, therefore, 
to distribute an amount of fertilizer sufficient only for the 
needs of the current crop. From two hundred to three 
hundred pounds per acre would be ample for the needs of an 
average crop and would afford plenty of phosphorus to stim- 
ulate the growth of a heavy legume crop for the purposes 
mentioned in preceding paragraphs. The best time of the 
year to apply acid phosphate, dissolved bone, bone black, 
or other carriers of available phosphorus, is in the spring 
just prior to seeding. Harrowing or disking the fertilizer 
into the seed bed is preferable to plowing it under. 

The methods of applying natural rock phosphate to land 
are somewhat different from the methods best adapted to 
acid phosphate. Rock phosphate can be applied at infre- 
quent intervals in large amounts, if desired, and also at any 
season of the year that best suits the farmer and his other 
work. Rock phosphate undergoes decomposition slowly in 
the soil and there is a negligible loss from leaching even 
though the material is distributed in comparatively large 
amounts and at infrequent intervals. An application of 
1,000 pounds per acre of rock phosphate every five or six 
years in a good crop rotation will provide a liberal supply 
of phosphorus for maximum crops. In case of a badly 
run down farm it would pay to apply a ton to the acre at 
the outset and to apply smaller amounts every three to 
six years (estimating the phosphorus needs of crops on the 
basis of 150 to 200 pounds of rock phosphate per acre annual- 
ly). The work of spreading rock phosphate on the land can 
be divided up through several seasons and years, if desired, 
after the whole farm area has been covered and a rotation 



FERTILIZERS— USE AND APPLICATION 313 

has been started. Part of the fertilizer can be mixed with 
the barnyard manure and spread on the land during the win- 
ter, and another part spread on land just prior to either fall 
or spring plowing. After a farm has once been fertilized and 
a rotation started, the easiest and cheapest method for 
spreading phosphate fertilizer is to broadcast the fertilizer 
on pasture sod just prior to breaking, or, in case of a rotation 
without pasture, to apply the fertilizer just after an annual 
pasture, meadow, or green manure crop, and to plow it under 
with the accumulated manure and humus. 

Potash Fertilizers, Use, and Application. In the growing 
of staple field crops there is rarely any real need for the use 
of potash fertilizers to supply the food requirements of the 
crops, providing methods of farming are followed that will 
release potassium from the large reserve supplies that exist 
in the majority of soils. Occasionally there are soils so 
deficient in potassium as to need real amendment in this 
respect. Drained swamp lands with peaty soils are often 
very deficient in potassium and must receive applications 
of potash fertilizers to make them truly productive. 

Certain field crops such as potatoes, tobacco, and sugar 
beets draw heavily on potassium, which is essential to large 
yields and full development with these crops. In consider- 
ation of the fact that the gross income per acre for these 
crops is comparatively large and that a liberal supply of 
potassium in the soil will swell the gross income greatly at 
small proportionate expense, the judicious use of potash 
fertilizers is quite often advisable and productive of large 
profits. Field crops of this character are analagous to the 
truck gardener's crops which respond profitably to forcing 
with commercial fertilizers. 

There are four forms of potash fertilizer that are prac- 
tical in amending soils or feeding such special crops as 



314 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

potatoes, sugar beets, and tobacco. These are: wood ashes 
not leached, kainit, muriate of potash, and sulphate of pot- 
ash. All these fertilizers are water soluble and the potas- 
sium is readily available to crop roots. Wood ashes are 
rarely purchasable in any quantity. When produced on 
the farm or in local sa^vmills, it pays to save them and apply 
them to root crops or tobacco. The cost of potassium in 
kainit, muriate of potash, and sulphate of potash is nearly 
the same in most markets. Choice between these three 
forms of potash fertilizer should depend on the price (cost 
per pound of actual potassium,) although it is not advisable 
to use large amounts of muriate of potash on tobacco, 
potatoes, or sugar beets as a direct fertilizer. Muriate of 
potash can be successfully used to amend potassium deficien- 
cies in peaty soils, but should not be applied directly to 
tobacco, potatoes, or sugar beets, whose quality it is likely 
to affect unfavorably. 

Potash fertilizers are so easily soluble in water that con- 
siderable leaching may take place, if large amounts of fer- 
tihzer are used in excess of the amounts that can be absorbed 
by the current year's crop. For this reason the infrequent 
application of large amounts of potash fertilizers is not 
economical. It is better to apply potassium in an amount 
slightly in excess of the needs of the current year's crop, and 
to make applications frequently on soils deficient in this 
form of plant food. Furthermore, it is best to apply the 
potash fertilizer, wherever possible, to root crops or tobacco 
that will utilize the plant food so provided to the greatest 
profit. Unless soils contain an abundance of lime, the fre- 
quent use of potash fertilizers tends to produce an acid soil. 
If a soil is acid, it should be limed before potash fertilizers 
are used in order to make the potash fertilizer fully efficient, 
and to neutralize the acid portion of the fertilizer after the 



FERTILIZERS— USE AND APPLICATION 315 

potassium has been dissolved and utilized by crops. Potash 
fertilizers give the best results when applied jointly with 
lime, or when used on soils naturally rich in lime. 

The best method for applying potash fertilizers is to 
broadcast the fertilizer early in the spring on fall plowing 
and harrow it thoroughly into the seed bed. In spring 
plowing the fertilizer should be broadcasted and harrowed 
in as soon after plowing and as long before planting as pos- 
sible. It is not a good plan to drill in much potash fertilizer 
where it will come in direct contact with the plant roots, 
nor is it advisable to spread the fertilizer after the crop has 
started. These practices are likely to cause injury to crop 
roots and retard growth instead of stimulating it, particularly 
in dry seasons. The economical, safe method is to get the 
fertilizer thoroughly harrowed into the seed bed and in partial 
solution prior to planting. 

The amounts per acre of potash fertilizers to secure best 
results vary greatly according to the fertilizer and the crop 
to be fertilized. Wood ashes, for example, contain from 2% 
to 10% of potash, (1.7% to 8.3% of the element potassium) 
and with the maximum percentage of potassium it would 
take 500 pounds of raw material to supply as much actual 
potassium as could be had in 100 pounds of sulphate of pot- 
ash which contains 50% actual potash, (41.5% potassium). 
Kainit, also, usually contains about 12% potash (10% 
potassium) and would have to be applied in larger amounts 
than sulphate of potash to provide the same amount of 
potassium. From 300 to 500 pounds per acre of wood 
ashes or kainit is regarded as about the maximum amounts 
it is desirable to use. If it is desired to use a larger amount of 
potassium for a root crop than is contained in 300 to 500 
pounds of wood ashes or kainit, it is better to use 200 to 250 
pounds per acre of sulphate of potash, A top-dressing of 



316 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

75 to 100 pounds per acre of sulphate of potash is ample for 
the needs of a tobacco crop, and 200 pounds per acre will 
provide a liberal supply of available potassium for a bumper 
potato crop. 

Nitrogen Fertilizers, Use, and Application. The pur- 
chase of nitrogenous commercial fertilizers for general field 
crops is not good business. Live stock manures and legume 
green manure crops provide nitrogen at a cost so low as to 
prohibit any real competition from other nitrogen carrying 
materials. The only conditions of general farming that 
warrant the use of commercial nitrogen fertilizers are in 
the early work of building up a farm of impoverished soil. 
Nitrogen deficiency in an impoverished soil needs attention 
prior even to phosphorus, potassium or lime. The legume 
crops that are capable of utilizing atmospheric nitrogen 
cannot start and thrive on a soil deficient in available nitro- 
gen. The first step in the cycle of a plan to establish a 
permanent system of agriculture on an impoverished soil 
is to replenish the nitrogen supply. 

In such a case resort must be had to the commercial 
nitrogen fertilizer, unless animal manures are available. 
The best commercial nitrogen fertilizers are nitrate of soda, 
sulphate of ammonia, dried blood, and tankage. In most 
cases nitrogen can be purchased as cheaply in nitrate of 
soda as in any other form (see page 281). If dried blood, 
sulphate of ammonia, or tankage, can be purchased at a 
price that will provide nitrogen more cheaply, they may be 
given the preference. It should be remembered, though, 
that the nitrogen in tankage is not readily available, and, 
therefore, this fertilizer is not as quick acting as the others. 

An application of 300 to 400 pounds per acre of nitrate 
of soda is none too much to use in case of a soil badly im- 
poverished of nitrogen, when it is desired to quickly stimu- 



FERTILIZERS— USE AND APPLICATION 317 

late the growth of "nitrogen gathering, humus producing" 
crops to form the basis for a permanent supply of cheap 
nitrogen. Three hundred pounds of 16% nitrate of soda 
would contain 48 pounds of available nitrogen and this 
would be none too much for a thrifty legume crop of any 
kind, or a grain crop that was being used as a nurse crop; 
But this amount of nitrogen fertilizer would create a very 
heavy acre expense (about $9.00 per acre) and would hardly 
be justified under the conditions mentioned. It would be a 
wiser plan usually to apply 100 to 150 pounds of nitrogen 
fertilizer per acre, together with lime, if needed, thus getting 
the legume crops started as cheaply as possible, and depend 
on animal manures and green manure legume crops as soon 
as possible to build up the supply of nitrogen plant food in 
the soil. 

Nitrogen fertilizers can be applied to land and to crops 
by various methods. They will cause a rank growth of 
vegetation and for that reason are often used as a top-dress- 
ing on meadows. They may cause rank and weak grain 
straw on some soils, when care should be exercised in giving 
nitrogen stimulation to the grain crop. In general, if there 
is a real need, for the use of a nitrogen fertilizer in general 
farming, the fertilizer can be used to best advantage in giving 
a quick start to an annual legume crop or to a seeding of 
meadow grasses and clovers. In such an event a portion 
of the fertilizer can be broadcasted and harrowed into the 
seed bed prior to seeding and another portion used later on 
as a top-dressing, or, if desired, the entire amount worked 
into the land prior to seeding. 

The actual cases where a nitrogen fertilizer can be pro- 
fitably used are very rare. Money spent on commercial 
nitrogen fertilizers is usually wasted, and they should be 
shunned by a majority of farmers growing staple field crops. 



5l8 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Fertilizer Machinery. Commercial fertilizers can be 
spread on land fairly well by hand methods either from the 
wagon or from piles on the land. But these methods involve 
much hard work and fail to give the even distribution that 
is essential to the best results. The work of distributing 
commercial fertilizers should be done by machinery wherever 
possible. Machine distribution gives the maximum efficien- 
cy to a given amount of fertilizer on account of the evenness 
of distribution, greatly reduces the amount of hard work 
involved and also permits of rapid work — an item of import- 
ance when lime or phosphate rock must be unloaded and 
distributed from a railway car. 

There are numerous machines and attachments for 
standard farm machines made for the special purpose of 
distributing commercial fertilizers. In general, these ma- 
chines are planned to distribute fertilizers by either of two 







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:#> 








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Photo by courtesy American Seeding Machine Company. 

A machine that broadcasts ground limestone, ground phosphate rock, or other 
fertilizer, on land. The practical way to apply commercial fertilizers. 



FERTILIZERS— USE AND APPLICATION 319 

methods, (1) broadcasting the fertilizer on the surface of 
the land, and (2) drilling the fertilizer into the seed bed 
along with the cotton, corn, potato, or other seed. The 
broadcasting method is usually the preferable one, especially 
when lime, potassium, and phosphate fertilizers are being 
used to amend soil deficiencies. Large broadcasting ma- 
chines can be had that will distribute fertilizers evenly and 
rapidly. They are provided with large hoppers, screens to 
take out lumps and sticks, large, wide tired wheels, and force 
feeds to give an even distribution of the fertilizer. The 
amount of fertilizer per acre can be regulated in much the 
same manner as the amount of seed per acre is regulated on 
a grain drill. 

When fertilizers are evenly distributed with a good 
broadcasting machine, and thoroughly harrowed into the 
seed bed, the maximum efficiency of the fertilizer will usually 
be realized at the minimum cost for distribution. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) What are the approximate plant food requirements of a wheat 

crop yielding 22 bu. per acre? What would it cost to supply- 
all the plant food (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) for this 
crop, if the plant food were supplied from a complete fertilizer 
analyzing 4% ammonia, 8% phosphoric acid, and 4% potash, 
and costing $30.00 per ton? What would it cost to supply these 
same amounts of plant food from acid phosphate analyzing 16% 
phosphoric acid and costing $18.00 per ton; muriate of potash 
analyzing 50% potash and costing $45.00 per ton; and nitrate 
of soda analyzing 15% nitrogen and costing $60.00 per ton? 
See pages 296, 282. 

(2) Perform the simple htmus paper and ammonia tests for soil acid- 

ity described in this chapter, using a soil sample of your home 
farm or some local farm. 

(3) Why is the purchase of nitrogen fertilizers for field crops usually 

a waste of money? 



320 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

(4) Outline a plan for the economical distribution of lime, phosphate 

rock, or potassium fertilizers on a farm. Consider the season of 
the year, the time allowed by railways for unloading a car, the 
distance of the farm from the railway siding, the amount of 
fertilizer to be used per acre, the equipment for unloading and 
distributing, and the number of men and horses necessary and 
desirable to accomplish good work. Estimate the cost per acre 
for unloading and distributing. 

(5) Select two or three of the rotation plans and diagrams that were 

called for in the questions accompanying Chapters VI to XI, 
Part II, preferably those that apply to your local conditions, 
and insert a rational plan for soil amendment with fertihzers. 
If the local conditions are such that fertihzer amendments are 
unnecessary, use theoretical diagrams presupposing a need for 
lime, phosphorus or potassium amendment. This plan should 
show first of all the desired soil amendments or the results it is 
desired to accompUsh with special crops in the rotation, such as 
potatoes, sugar beets, or tobacco. It should further show the 
kinds and amounts of fertihzers to be used; the place in the rota- 
tion for applying the fertilizer or fertilizers, and the time of year 
the fertilizers are to be applied. Supplement the diagram with 
a" thorough explanation and discussion. Give your reasons for 
the plan of amendment you have outlined. 



CHAPTER VIII 
EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS 

In the following paragraphs quotations are given from the 
bulletins of several Agricultural Experiment Stations con- 
cerning the use of commercial fertilizers in general farming. 
Space does not permit the use of excerpts from commercial 
fertilizer bulletins in every agricultural region of the United 
States. Selections have been made, therefore, from a few 
bulletins that it is believed will best show the principles and 
practice for the general farming conditions of the United 
States. 

In order to avoid confusion in regard to terms pertaining 
to phosphorus, all references in these bulletins to phosphoric 
acid have been changed to the common and comparable 
basis of the element phosphorus. All references to potash 
and potassium are taken exactly from the bulletins. These 
terms are often used indiscriminately in agricultural publi- 
cations, but the reader will not be confused, if be remembers 
that potash is a chemical compound containing 83% po- 
tassium. 

The Cut-over Lands of South Mississippi. Bulletin 160 
Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station (pp. 12-13). 

The results of hundreds of tests with fertilizers conducted 
here under all classes of crops bear out the evident conclu- 
sion drawn from a study of our soil analyses that phosphorus 
is the mineral element most seriously lacking in these soils. 
* * * Potash is still relatively high as compared to phos- 
phorus, there being about twenty times as much potash in 
soil and subsoil as there is phosphorus. This fact is also 
borne out by practical or actual results, for the addition of 
potash either alone or in combination with phosphorus and 

21 



322 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

nitrogen has given little increase of crop. * * * Nitrogen 
is necessary even on freshly cleared lands here and must 
from the start be supplied either with commercial fertilizers 
or by growing legume crops. Nitrogen when purchased in 
fertilizers costs so much, is so easily lost from the soil by 
leaching or oxidation, and is so cheaply supplied by legumi- 
nous crops so easily grown here either alone or as catch 
crops, that it is really extravagant to buy this nitrogen in 
any well planned system of cropping. * * * 

The fact is, people have gone fertilizer mad, as it were, 
and have learned to depend almost entirely on buying 
plant food in a sack rather than on manufacturing the same 
on the farm by growing leguminous crops and by keeping 
more live stock from which to make manure. From the 
experience with the matter at this station, it would seem 
that the fertilizer question resolves itself into the simple 
proposition of adding more humus to the soil by growing 
more leguminous crops which at the same time will supply 
the necessary nitrogen, leaving only the phosphorus to be 
purchased, which in the presence of an abundance of rotting 
organic matter can be supplied as raw phosphate rock. 

Thus, instead of spending $20.00 a ton for a complete 
fertilizer, which, generally speaking, would contain about 
$2.00 worth of potash and $9.00 worth each of nitrogen and 
phosphorus, the farmer could on these soils dispense with 
the potash entirely, and could supply the nitrogen with 
leguminous crops and animal manures, and instead of pay- 
ing 123/^ cents per pound for phosphorus in acid phosphate, 
could, by increasing the humus content of his soils, get 
practically the same results by using raw phosphate rock at 
a cost of three cents per pound for phosphorus. We would 
by no means recommend that this substitution of raw phos- 
phate rock for acid phosphate be done indiscriminately; for, 
unless the organic matter is present in quantity, the result 
would be very disappointing. There is so much doubt as 
to the financial benefit from the addition of potash to ferti- 
lizers used here that we do not hesitate to advise its elimina- 
tion, except in individual instances where the farmer has 
satisfied himself that it does good. 



EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS 323 

Wheat Growing in Kentucky. Bulletin 155 Kentucky 
Agricultural Experiment Station (pp. 50-51). * * * There 
is only one safe rule, so far as fertility is concerned, for pro- 
ducing good crops of any kind, and that is to keep up the 
fertility of the soil by a judicious rotation of crops, the use 
of all the manure that can be produced on the farm, and the 
purchase of whatever mineral plant food the soil may be 
deficient in. * * * 

* * * The solution of the problem of fertility, then, is, 
as stated, to keep up a good humus supply by a good rota- 
tion containing clover and other legumes and by the use of 
manure, supplemented by the purchase in sufficient quantity 
of the element which may be deficient, which is usually 
phosphorus. It is no doubt profitable on many soils to use 
a high grade, complete fertilizer, to give the crop a good 
start; but it should always be borne in mind that the use of 
it alone will not keep up the fertility of the soil. 

Any soil, no matter how abundantly supplied with the 
mineral elements of plant food, may become so deficient in 
organic matter that the availability of the mineral plant 
food will not be sufficient to meet the needs of the crop. 
In such cases the use of commercial fertilizers may give 
profitable results, and may be used until a supply of organic 
matter is restored to the soil. 

Soil Fertility Problems in Kentucky. Extension 
Circular, May, 1913, Kentucky Agricultural Experiment 
Station (pp. 7-9). The large quantities of organic matter 
necessary to keep a soil in good condition cannot be produced 
on soils deficient in phosphorus. The first essential, then, 
in the improvement of such soils, after correcting acidity, 
is the addition of an adequate supply of phosphorus. The 
question at once arises as to what form it is best to use. 
We realize that in discussing this question we are treading 
upon disputed ground. 

Let us first consider the cost. A ton of 6% acid phos- 
phate costs $16.00 and affords 120 pounds of phosphorus. 
A ton of 12% raw ground phosphate rock costs $6.00 to 
$7.50 in most parts of this State, and affords 240 pounds of 
phosphorus. But more than two tons of raw ground phos- 



324 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



phate rock may be brought for $16.00, affording not less 
than 500 pounds of phosphorus against 120 pounds in the 
acid phosphate. When appHcations amounting to five or 
six tons have been made on an acre of the ordinary thin soils 
of the State, at a cost of $30.00 to $40.00, it will contain as 
much phosphorus as the high priced lands of the Blue Grass 
Region selling for $125.00 to $150.00 per acre, and in many 
cases can be made quite as productive. This content 
would be sufficient, under good conditions, to furnish avail- 
able phosphorus for 100 bushel corn crops. This of course 
requires capital, but no business can be conducted without 
capital. * * * 

* * * On soils deficient in organic matter, acid phos- 
phate may be expected to give better results than raw ground 
phosphate rock. Also acid phosphate may be expected to 
give better results the first year than raw ground rock. But 
in a continued process of soil building, rock phosphate used 
in connection with sufficient decaying organic matter may 
be expected to give the most profitable results. * * * 

* * * The following table gives the results of experi- 
ments begun at Burnside, Kentucky, in 1908, on a very 
badly worn piece of land. The analysis of this soil shows 
in the surface 7 inches: 14,600 pounds of potash, 1,860 pounds 
of nitrogen, and 666 pounds of phosphorus. 



Table HE. Fertilizer Experiments on Badly Worn Land in 
Kentucky 



Plot 


SOIL TREATMENT 
Amounts of Fertilizer per Acre 


Bu. 
Corn 
1909 


Bu. 
Oats 
1910 


Pounds 

Clover 

Hay 

1911 


Bu. 

Corn 
1912 


1. 

2. 


Rock phosphate 2,000 lbs . 
Muriate of potash 400 lbs . . . 
No treatment 


3.8 
7.0 

11.3 
17.7 
20.4 
11.9 


9.3 
9.0 

11.9 
13.6 
14.0 
10.5 


2,436 

668 

2,168 

2,328 

1,292 

764 


32.9 
9.5 


3. 

4. 
5. 


Acid phosphate 800 lbs. 
Muriate of potash 400 lbs . . 

Acid phosphate 800 lbs 

No treatment 


45.7 
43.5 
30.3 


6. 


Muriate of potash 400 lbs . . . 


17.6 



EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS 325 



Note: In these experiments an application of fertilizers was 
made when cowpeas were planted in 1908. Rock phosphate was used 
at the rate of one ton per acre; acid phosphate 800 pounds per acre 
(equal in money value to the rock phosphate), and muriate of potash 
400 pounds per acre. Manm-e was added each year equivalent to 
the crop removed. A second application of like amounts was made 
in the spring of 1912. Both times the fertilizers were applied broad- 
cast and plowed under. The plan is to make only one application 
of fertilizers in a rotation. No nitrogen is used in this experiment 
for the reason that it is not profitable to restore nitrogen to a soil by 
purchasing it in commercial form. 



* * * It will be observed that the effects of raw ground 
phosphate rock did not show up very much until the clover 
crop was reached. The reason for this is that the soil was 
very deficient in organic matter and nitrogen, and that the 
plot on which the rock phosphate was used was decidedly 
the poorest in nitrogen. * * * in the summer preceding 
the corn crop (1909), all the plots were sown to cowpeas 
which were turned under and followed by a rye cover crop 
which was also turned under. Where acid phosphate was 
used there was practically twice the growth of cowpeas and 
rye as on the plots where acid phosphate was not used. It is 
thus readily seen that the acid phosphate plots had the 
advantage in the beginning over the rock phosphate plot. 
The idea was to give rock phosphate a severe test in the pro- 
cess of restoring fertility. It is interesting to note that 
potash has shown no appreciable results on any of the crops. 



From our experience in this experiment, we are led to 
recommend that in beginning the restoration of a badly 
worn soil deficient in phosphorus, it is best to use an appli- 
cation of acid phosphate in growing a cowpea crop turned 
under with a liberal application of raw ground phosphate 
rock, to be followed with clover as soon as possible. Clover 
seems specially able to utilize the rock phosphate. The 
clover turned under, pastured, or fed with the manure 
returned, furnishes available phosphorus as well as nitrogen 
for succeeding crops. On soils fairly well supplied with 
organic matter rock phosphate may be used to begin with. 



326 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Shall We Use Natural Rock Phosphate or Manufac- 
tured Acid Phosphate for the Permanent Improvement of 
Illinois Soils? Circular 127, Illinois Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station (pp 16-18). This bulletin, prepared by the 
Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, gives a thorough 
resume of all experimental work at the Ohio, Maryland, 
Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and 
Illinois stations, on the comparative merits of raw rock phos- 
phate and acid phosphate for general field agriculture. While 
the conclusions reached in each case are quite similar, the 
experiments at the Ohio station are the most comprehensive, 
because a definite plan of plowing under organic matter 
accompanied the application of the fertilizers, as would be 
done in good farm practice. Excerpts are, therefore, given 
from the investigational work of the Ohio station only. 

* * * The investigations of the Ohio Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station cover twelve years of undoubtedly as careful 
field experimentation as has ever been conducted. In these 
investigations three different and entirely distinct fields 
are used, and in each field a double comparison has been 
made between raw rock phosphate and acid phosphate. A 
three-year rotation is practiced, consisting of corn the first 
year, wheat with clover seeding the second year, and the 
regular clover crop the third year, these crops being rotated 
so that every crop is represented every year. 

In each field there are two plots that are treated with 
manure alone, which is applied to the clover sod at the rate 
of eight tons per acre and plowed under for corn, no further 
application being made for the wheat or clover. There are 
two other plots in each field treated with the same kind and 
amount of manure to which has been added 40 pounds of 
raw phosphate rock with each ton of manure, and there are 
still two other plots on which, likewise, the same quantity 
and kind of manure is used, to each ton of which has been 
added 40 pounds of acid phosphate. 



EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS 



327 



The following tabular statement gives the average of 
all of the yields obtained during the twelve years for each 
field. 

Table IV. Ohio Experiments with Manure, Raw Rock Phos- 
phate, and Acid Phosphate. Average of 12 Years. Duplicate 
Tests on Each Field. 



Soil Treatment 



Field A Field B Field C Average 



CORN— BUSHELS PER ACRE 



Manure alone 

Manure and Rock Phosphate 

Manure and Acid Phosphate 


47.2 
56.4 
54.6 


63.6 
69.5 
70.8 


53.3 

58.2 
62.0 


54.7 
61.4 
63.1 



WHEAT— BUSHELS PER ACRE 



Manure alone 

Manure and Rock Phosphate . 
Manure and Acid Phosphate. 



20.4 


21.7 


17.2 


23.4 


30.4 


24.6 


23.8 


29.4 


25.7 



19.8 
26.1 
26.1 



CLOVER HAY— TONS PER 


ACRE 






Manure alone 


1.99 
2.47 
2.23 


1.34 
1.90 
1.76 


.83 
1.79 
1.92 


1.39 


Manure and Rock Phosphate 

Manure and Acid Phosphate 


2.05 
1.97 



It will be seen that, as an average of all the data from 
the 12 years' experiments, the increase from the raw rock 
phosphate has been practically identical with that from the 
acid phosphate, while the cost of treatment was twice as 
great with the acid phosphate as with the raw rock. Fur- 
thermore, twice as much phosphorus has been applied in the 
application of raw rock as in the application of acid phos- 
phate, so that at the close of the twelve years the raw phos- 
phate plots still contain as much applied phosphorus as the 
total application made in the acid phosphate. It will be 
observed in case of the clover crop, which has power to secure 
nitrogen from the air, or should have, if the soil contains 



328 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

plenty of lime, the rock phosphate has produced distinctly 
better results than the acid phosphate, the average diJffer- 
ence amounting to .08 of a ton per acre, or 64 cents' worth 
of hay at $8.00 per ton. 

Fine ground natural rock phosphate, carrying 12% to 
12/^% of the element phosphorus, can be delivered in car 
lots to Central Illinois for a cost of $6.50 to $7.50 per ton of 
2,000 pounds. Acid phosphate (with 7% phosphorus) 
commonly costs from $15.00 to $18.00 per ton in Central 
Illinois. 

Shall We Use "Complete Commercial Fertilizers" in the 
Com Belt? Circular 165, Illinois Agricultural Experiment 
Station (pp. 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, and 16). This bulletin 
is an excellent summary of the facts about "complete fer- 
tilizers" for the agriculture of the Middle West. Numerous 
excerpts are here made from it that will present considerable 
experimental evidence about "complete fertilizers" in con- 
densed form and popular language. 

* * * The most common "complete fertilizer" in the 
United States has a composition known as 2-8-2, which 
means it contains in 100 pounds the equivalent of 2 pounds 
of ammonia, 8 pounds of available phosphoric acid, and 2 
pounds of potash, or, in terms of actual plant food elements, 
one ton of such fertilizer contains about 33 pounds of nitro- 
gen, 80 pounds of phosphorus, and 33 pounds of potas- 
sium; and, as a general average, such a fertilizer is sold at 
retail for $20.00 to $30.00 per ton. 

A 50 bushel crop of corn takes from the soil 75 pounds of 
nitrogen, 12 pounds of phosphorus, and 36 pounds of potas- 
sium; and, in proportion to the yield, other grain crops have 
approximately the same requirements. Such a crop would 
require more than a ton per acre of such fertilizer to supply 
the potassium, or more than two tons to furnish the nitrogen, 
or from $4.00 to $6.00 worth of "complete fertilizer" to pro- 
vide even the phosphorus for one acre of corn yielding 50 
bushels. * * * 



EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS 329 

* * * The ordinary "complete fertilizer" is made by 
taking one ton of ground phosphate rock and adding to it 
about one ton of sulphuric acid and two tons of "filler," 
together with a small amount of nitrogen and potassium; 
thus producing four tons of "complete fertilizer" of the 
average composition noted above, with no more phosphorus 
in the four tons than was contained in the one ton of raw 
rock phosphate. 

Fine ground natural rock phosphate can be delivered at 
the farmers' railroad stations in most parts of the corn belt 
for less than $8.00 per ton, while the four tons of "complete 
fertilizer" containing the same amount of phosphorus would 
cost the same farmers more than $80.00 as an average. 
About a year ago I found one farmer in Illinois who had 
purchased four tons of such a "complete fertilizer" at a cost 
of $114.00 ($28.50 per ton), whereas for $7.00 he could have 
purchased in raw rock phosphate, delivered at his station, 
the same amount of phosphorus as was contained in the four 
tons of "complete fertilizer." Long continued investigations 
clearly establish the fact that by growing and plowing under 
leguminous crops, either directly or in manure, he could have 
secured plenty of nitrogen from the air, and have liberated 
not only abundant potassium from the inexhaustible supply 
contained in the soil, but also phosphorus, as needed, from 
fine ground natural rock phosphate plowed under in connec- 
tion with the decaying organic manures. 

I have given the above figures in order to show some- 
thing of the enormous profit from the manufacture and sale 
of commercial fertilizers, as well as to show that it is not 
necessary for the farmer to buy small amounts of three 
different elements of plant food, but rather that he should 
buy large amounts of one element — so far as we can judge 
from the broad facts concerning the supply of the plant food 
elements in normal soils and in the air, the requirements of 
the staple farm crops for these elements, and the composi- 
tion and cost of the "complete fertilizer" as well as of ground 
natural rock phosphate. * * * 

* * * The Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station 
published in April, 1912, Bulletin No. 155, entitled "Results 



r,30 . FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

of Co-operative Fertilizer Tests on Clay and Loam Soils." 
* * * The authors have used reasonable prices for farm 
products and have also been fair to the fertilizer industry in 
regard to the cost of fertilizers. 

They report fifteen different tests in eleven different 
counties with the use of the ordinary 2-8-2 fertilizer for corn, 
and they show that, as a general average, for every dollar 
invested in such fertilizers the value of the increase in the 
corn crop amounted to $1.59. 

They also report eighteen different tests in sixteen 
different counties with the use of 4-8-4 fertilizer on corn, 
and show that for every dollar invested in "complete ferti- 
lizer" of this composition the value of the increase in the 
corn crop was worth only 83 cents. 

Furthermore, they report nineteen different tests in 
thirteen different counties with the use of 4-8-4 fertilizer on 
wheat, and for every dollar invested in the fertilizer the value 
of the increase produced amounted to $1.30. 

They report six different tests in four different counties 
with the use of "complete fertilizers" of different composi- 
tion on oats, and, as an average, every dollar invested in the 
fertilizer produced an increase in the oat crop valued at 31 
cents. 

Finally, they report thirteen different tests in seven 
different counties with the use of 4-8-4 fertilizers on potatoes, 
and for every dollar invested in the fertilizer the increase 
produced in the potato crop was worth $1.04. 

It will be seen that, as a general average of the fertilizer 
tests on corn, wheat and oats, the investment of $1.00 in 
"complete commercial fertilizers" paid back only 94 cents. 

In the summary of this bulletin occurs the following 
significant statement: "Phosphorus and potash gave a 
greater profit per dollar invested in the fertilizer, than com- 
plete fertilizer, on both corn and wheat. In nearly all 
experiments with all crops on clay and loam soils phosphorus 
was found to be the most effective of the fertilizer elements." 

Thus the data reported show that while 4-8-4 fertilizer 
for corn paid back only 83 cents out of each dollar invested, 
when the nitrogen was omitted from the fertilizer it then 



EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS 331 

paid back $1.19 for each dollar invested. In other words, 
by omitting the nitrogen the net loss of 17 cents was changed 
to a net profit of 19 cents. 

Furthermore, as may be seen from the results mentioned 
above, when both the nitrogen and potassium were reduced 
by one half (from 4-8-4 to 2-8-2) the net return per dollar 
invested was changed from a loss of 17 cents to a profit of 
59 cents; and, in harmony with the above quotation, the 
authors of this bulletin show that when the nitrogen was 
entirely omitted from the 2-8-2 fertilizer used for corn, the 
net profit per dollar invested rose from 59 cents to $1.24. 

This series of experiments did not include any tests 
with the use of phosphorus alone, but Circular Number 10 
of the Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station gives the 
results from a comparative test with acid phosphate and raw 
rock phosphate conducted in Scott County over a period of 
four years with a two year rotation of corn and wheat. 

If we allow $15.00 per ton for the acid phosphate and 
$7.50 per ton for the ground natural phosphate, and figure 
the crops at the same prices as were used by the Indiana 
Station (35 cents a bushel for corn and 80 cents a bushel for 
wheat) we find that for each dollar invested the acid phos- 
phate paid back $2.45, and the raw phosphate $3.41 as net 
profit. 

In commenting upon these experiments in Indiana 
Circular Number 10, Director Goss emphasizes the fact that 
the acid phosphate gave better results for the first two years, 
but that during the third and fourth seasons, the rock phos- 
phate produced very striking results, even forging ahead of 
the acid phosphate. * * * 

* * * In a five year rotation of corn, oats, wheat, 
clover, and timothy, grown on five different series of plots, 
so that every crop may be represented every year, the Ohio 
Agricultural Experiment Station has tested the use of "com- 
plete commercial fertilizers" for a period of eighteen years. 
As a general average the "complete fertilizers" have cost the 
Ohio Station $19.78 per acre for the rotation, and the increase 
in crops (at average Ohio prices of 40 cents a bushel for corn, 
30 cents for oats, 80 cents for wheat, $8.00 a ton for hay, 



332 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

$2.00 a ton for straw, and $3.00 a ton for corn stalks) has 
been worth $32.84, thus showing a profit of $13.06 for the 
rotation, or 66 cents for each dollar invested. 

* * * In comparison with "complete fertilizers," phos- 
phorus was used alone in these Ohio experiments; and the 
same Ohio Circular (Number 120) shows that $2.60 invested 
in phosphorus gave a net profit of $13.93 per acre per rota- 
tion. In other words, as an average of these most trust- 
worthy investigations covering eighteen years, the actual 
profit per acre from $2.60 invested in phosphorus was 87 
cents greater than that from $19.78 invested in the "com- 
plete fertilizers." The fact is that the expenditure for 
nitrogen and potassium was worse than useless; for, when 
the net returns are computed as above, it is seen that the 
actual profits were reduced 87 cents per acre by the purchase 
of nitrogen and potassium. It will be noted that for every 
dollar invested in phosphorus alone there was a net profit 
of $5.36, compared with the average of 66 cents from the 
"complete fertilizers." Of course the profit from phos- 
phorus would have been still greater, if the increased crops 
produced by the phosphorus had been returned to the soil 
to a considerable extent, either in farm manure or in green 
manures and crop residues, as they would be in rational 
systems of farming. 

If one invests $2.60 in phosphorus and receives $16.53 
thereform in increased crops, then it would seem that the 
man who has any more money to invest in fertilizers would 
buy more phosphorus, rather than spend it for nitrogen 
and potassium which fail to pay even their cost. It may be 
added that where nitrogen was used alone in these same 
Ohio experiments, it paid back only 58% of its cost, while 
nitrogen and potassium together paid back only 52% of 
their cost. Potassium alone did not pay its cost, but when 
used in addition to phosphorus each dollar invested in potas- 
sium paid an apparent profit of 22 cents in five years, which 
is less than 5% per annum. 

Another very important point to consider is that the 
Ohio Experiment Station did not buy the "complete ferti- 
lizers" used in these experiments, but bought the ingredients 



EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS 333 

and mixed them at about two thirds of the average cost of 
the ready mixed "complete fertihzers." If we figure the 
cost of the "complete fertilizers" on the basis of average 
retail prices for the ready mixed "complete fertilizers," the 
average profit of 66% derived from the use of "complete 
fertilizers" in the five-year rotation at the Ohio Station, 
shrinks to about 11% or to about 2% per year on the money 
invested. 

* * * These very valuable Ohio experiments furnish 
additional definite proof of the need of purchasing phos- 
phorus in profitable systems of permanent soil improvement; 
but the results do not justify advising the use of "complete 
fertilizers" in general farming on normal corn belt soils; and, 
for the sake of maintaining general industrial prosperity, 
as well as for their own sake, farmers and landowners should 
be encouraged to invest their money in the positive and 
permanent improvement of their soils, rather than to spend 
it for small amounts of high priced "complete fertilizers" in 
systems of ultimate land ruin, which will finally leave them 
too poor ever to adopt systems of permanent agriculture. 

* * * The long continued investigations conducted by 
such public service institutions as the agricultural experi- 
ment stations, clearly show to the careful reader that, in 
profitable systems of general farming, nitrogen should be 
secured from the air, potassium should be liberated from the 
inexhaustible supply naturally contained in all normal corn 
belt soils, and that phosphorus should be purchased and 
applied liberally in low priced, fine-ground natural rock 
phosphate, ground limestone (likewise a low priced natural 
fertilizer) also being used where needed. 

The Fertility in Illinois Soils. Bulletin 123, Illinois 
Agricultural Experiment Station (p. 209). * * * On land 
deficient in phosphorus the standard rule should be to apply 
phosphorus equivalent to 25 pounds of the element per acre 
per year, remembering that a 100 bushel crop of corn re- 
moves 23 pounds of phosphorus. To supply 25 pounds of 
phosphorus will require 200 pounds of good steamed bone 
meal costing about $2.50, or 200 pounds of good raw rock 



334 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

phosphate costing about 80 cents, or 123^ tons of average 
fresh farm manure, or the manure that can be made from 
200 bushels of corn costing $80.00 to $100 as feed. 

* * * Probably the most practical and profitable meth- 
od of maintaining the supply of phosphorus is by applying 
1,000 pounds per acre of raw phosphate rock once every 
five or six years, preferably in connection with all available 
farm manure, and for the first two or three applications 
one ton per acre of the phosphate may well be used. It 
will remain in the soil until removed by crops unless subject 
to surface washing. 

If one adopts the rule that when one applies phosphorus 
it must be at the rate of at least 25 pounds per acre for each 
crop in the rotation (not 25 pounds of so called phosphoric 
acid, nor 25 pounds of so called bone phosphate, but 25 
pounds of phosphorus) he will then be proof against the 
misleading and ruinous practice of using ordinary so called 
"complete commercial fertihzers," for he will at once dis- 
cover that to buy 25 pounds of phosphorus in such fertilizers 
will cost from $8.00 to $10.00, and that the amounts he can 
afford to apply of such fertilizers will not furnish more than 
3^ to ^ as much phosphorus as is actually removed from 
the soil in good crops. 

Fertilizer Experiments with Sugar Beets. Bulletin 
115, Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, (pp. 13, 14 
and 23). The fertilizer experiments noted in this bulletin 
are particularly interesting in that they show so plainly the 
great difference in the general fertilizer requirements of the 
Western soil areas of the United States as compared with 
the soil areas of the Middle Western, Eastern and Southern 
states. These experiments, conducted on the comparatively 
new soil of the Western states where the per cent of natural 
phosphorus in the soil is comparatively high and the percent 
of natural nitrogen comparatively low, show plainly that 
at the present stage of general agriculture in the Western 
states, nitrogen is the element of plant food demanding 
most consideration by the farmer. The need for soil amend- 
ment as regards phosphorus is not an important feature of 



EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS 



335 



Western agriculture at the present time as is the case in 
parts of the Middle Western, Eastern and Southern regions 
of the United States. 



Table V. Fertilizer Experiments with Sugar Beets, Andrews 
Farm, Lake Park, 1905, Colorado Agricultural Experiment 
Station. 



Plot 
No. 


Kind of Fertilizers. 


Lbs. 
per 
acre 


Cost of 

fer- 
tilizer 
per 
acre 


Yield 

clean 

beets 

tons 

per 

acre 


Gross 

income 

beets 

per 

acre 


Net 
income 

after 
taking 
out fer- 
tilizer 

cost 


1. 


Acid bone meal 


193 

/192 
1 96 

142 
/lOO 
\199 

426 


Dollars 

1.93 

5.58 
4.47 

9.12 

12.78 


15.61 

16.81 
15.14 

17.89 
18.60 
14.76 
16.16 

15.93 

14.71 
12.18 
13.63 


Dollars 

78.05 

84.05 
75.70 

89.45 
93.00 
73.80 
80.80 

79.65 

73.55 
60.90 
68.15 


Dollars 

76.12 


2. 


Acid bone meal 




Sulphate of potash 


78.47 
71.23 


3. 


Sulphate of potash 


4. 


Sulphate of potash 




Nitrate of soda 


80.33 
80 22 


5. 


Nitrate of soda 


6. 


No fertilizer 


73 80 


7. 


Nitrate of soda 


212 

/214 
\215 

fl87 
187 
94 


6.36 
9.28 

11.06 


74 44 


8. 


Nitrate of soda 






Acid bone meal 


70.37 


9. 


(Complete fertilizer) 

Acid bone meal 




Nitrate of .soda 






Sulphate of potash 


62 49 


10. 


No fertilizer 


60 90 


11. 


No fertilizer 






68 15 













336 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Table VI. Fertilizer Experiments with Sugar Beets. The Resid- 
ual Effects of Manure and Fertilizers. Colorado Agricultural 
Experiment Station. 



Plot 

No. 



Kind of Fertilizer Applied in 
1903 only 



Am'ts 

fer- 
tilizer 
per 
acre 



Tons Yield per Acre 



1905 



Aver- 
age 
3 Years 



10. 



Cow manure. 
Cow manure . 
Cow manure . 



Nitrate of soda 

Nitrate of soda 

Nitrate of soda 

Raw bone meal 

No fertilizer 

Raw bone meal 

Thomas Slag phosphate 

(Complete fertilizer) 

Nitrate of soda 

Dried blood 

Acid bone meal 

Sulphate of potash 

Carbonate of potash in to- 
bacco ashes 

(Complete fertilizer) 

Nitrate of soda 

Dried blood 

Acid bone meal 

Sulphate of potash 

Carbonate of potash in to- 
bacco ashes 



Tons 

60 
30 
15 

Lbs. 

150 

150 

/150 

\200 



200 
400 

50 

75 

250 

50 

75 

100 
25 

250 
50 

75 



24.11 
25.10 



25.25 
25.67 

25.61 
21.46 

21.72 
22.60 



20.63 



22.35 



19.68 
20.31 



19.13 
19.28 

17.98 
16.94 
16.17 
15.55 



14.57 



16.49 



15.82 
14.57 



16.94 

17.78 

16.10 
17.07 
16.14 
14.61 



15.18 



15.99 



19.87 
19.99 



20.44 
20.91 

19.89 
18.49 
18.01 
17.59 



16.79 



18.28 



EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS 



337 



SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 

(1) Colorado soils generally contain ample supplies 
of potash and phosphorus, and an excess of lime. 

(2) The native soil is generally somewhat deficient 
in nitrogen and humus. Both are supplied by growing 
leguminous plants like alfalfa, peas, vetches, or beans, or 
from sheep and stable manures. Nitrogen, but not humus, 
can be supplied by commercial fertilizers. 




Photo by courtesy "Sugar." 
Planting sugar beets with four-horse teams and eight-row planters. 

(3) Nitrogen in the form of nitrate of soda is the 
only element which has had any decided effect in increasing 
the yield of sugar beets over the cost of production. 

(4) Potash and phosphorus, derived from sulphate of 
potash, raw bone meal, slag phosphate, acid bone meal, 
and phosphate rock, used alone or together, have very 
little or no effect on the yield. 

(5) There are strong indications that potash and 
phosphorus from fertilizers, largely, if not entirely, neu- 
tralize the effect of nitrate of soda upon the yield of sugar 
beets, although the quality of the beet is good. 



22 



338 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

(6) No difference in results was obtained between 
applying the nitrate of soda at the time of planting, or in 
part at the time of planting, and in two applications during 
the growing season. 

(7) The net profit from reasonable quantities of ma- 
nure, if cost of application as well as cost of manure is 
considerable, is mainly obtained in the after effects in 
the succeeding year, while there appears to be no residual 
effect the third year after application. 

(8) An excess of nitrogen from manures or fertilizer 
over what the plant needs lowers the yield and quality of 
the sugar beet some though not much. 

(9) Reasonable quantities of manure were fully as 
effective as large or excessive quantities. 

(13) Fertilizers will not take the place of good prep- 
aration or cultivation of the soil, or good care of the crop. 
The soil must be in good physical condition to make the 
best use of fertilizers applied. 



PART IV 
EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE 

In this part there is briefly presented some of the most 
reliable and representative data on crop rotation that has 
been secured and published by the Agricultural Experiment 
Stations of the United States of America. The amount of 
scientifically collected data on this subject is comparatively 
small in proportion to the importance of the subject and the 
length of time crop rotation has been under discussion and 
in practice. American agricultural literature teems with 
opinions and observations on the subject, but comparatively 
little scientific investigation of crop rotation has been 
carried on for sufficient time and with sufficient thoroughness 
to provide extensive and reliable data. 

In fact, the practice of crop rotation has developed in 
many places on the basis of erroneous beliefs in regard to its 
function in the problems of soil fertility, and in other places 
the value of the practice of crop rotation has been assumed as 
proven, and, therefore, the Experiment Stations have not 
investigated the subject very thoroughly nor with the idea of 
gathering real scientific data on the subject. Undoubtedly, 
in future years, there will be much more scientific data on 
the subject than now; for much experimental work has been 
started bearing on the problems of permanent soil produc- 
tivity as well as on the business features of crop rotation in 
its relation to farm management. From such experimental 
work and data as are now available, however, selections have 
been made from the publications of the Minnesota, North 
Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois and Ohio Experiment Stations. 



340 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

The investigations of the Minnesota, North Dakota and 
Nebraska Experiment Stations have been conducted with 
httle regard for the use of commercial fertilizers, and are 
typical for a stage of agriculture that is midway between 
pioneer farming on rich, virgin lands, and intensive farming 
that must recognize some plant food deficiency in the soil. 
The data of the Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska 
Experiment Stations, as here given, are representative for, 
and applicable to, those soil regions that have an abundant 
reserve supply of plant food in the soil, and where there is 
especial need for systems of farming that will stimulate those 
processes of soil decay that will make available to crops these 
reserve supplies of plant food and at the same time provide 
a check on the direct outgo of the important elements of 
plant food. Under these conditions crop rotation, includ- 
ing legume meadows and pastures or legume green manures, 
and with forage crops fed to live stock, is sufficient to main- 
tain productivity for many years to come, and there is rarely 
any need for the commercial fertihzer. 

The crop rotation investigations of the Illinois and Ohio 
Experiment Stations have been conducted mainly in con- 
junction with commercial fertilizers to amend certain plant 
food deficiencies of the soil, and are typical for a stage of 
agriculture somewhat older than that of Minnesota, North 
Dakota, and Nebraska, and where the reserve supplies of 
plant food in the soil are somewhat lower — in some cases too 
low for profitable crop production, even though the best 
possible methods are provided for the liberation of available 
plant food from the reserve supplies in the soil. Under these 
conditions crop rotation is insufficient to maintain profitable 
yields and must be supplemented by soil amendment with 
fertilizers. 



CHAPTER I 

ROTATION AND FARM MANAGEMENT EXPERI- 
MENTS—MINNESOTA 

The crop rotation experiments at the Minnesota Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station were begun in 1894. The plans 
called for the continuous culture of the staple field crops of 

Table VII. Yields of Wheat from Five Cropping Schemes. 
Average 6 Years 1899-1904. 

(Table I, Bulletin 125, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.) 



Year. 


Wheat con- 
tinuously, 
no manure. 


Two-year 
rotation: 
wheat and 
mangels, 
no manure. 


Three- 
year 
rotation: 
corn 
wheat, 
clover, 
no manure. 


Two-year 

rotation: 

wheat 

annual 

pasture, 

no manure. 


Five-year 

rotation: 

corn, 

wheat, 

meadow, 

pasture, 

oats, 

S tons 

manure. 


1899 bushels 

1900 " 

1901 " 

1902 

1903 

1904 


22.5 
14.5 
16.0 
17.0 
16.3 
20.8 


24.2 
13.5 
15.1 
21.3 
19.1 
20.0 


20.9 
27.3 
13.7 
18.1 
24.4 
27.3 


27.0 
29.5 
17.8 
23.1 

28.8 
28.6 


27.3 
25.6 
15.2 
25.1 
30.8 
32.0 


Average yield " 
Average value " 


17.8 
$11.80 


18.9 
$12.41 


21.9 

$14.76 


25.8 
$16.99 


26.0 
$17.44 


Gain in yield over 
continuous wheat, 
bushels 




1.1 
$0.61 


4.1 

$2.96 


8.0 
$5.19 


82 


Gain in value over 
continuous wheat 




$5.64 



Note: The average value of the crops is based on a ten year 
average, December 1st farm price for crops, as recorded in the Year- 
book of the United States Department of Agriculture. 



342 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Minnesota, and rotations of these crops in various combi- 
nations, with and without legume crops, and in long and 
short rotation cycles. At the time these experiments were 
made there was no interest in the use of commercial fertili- 
zers in Minnesota and no fertilizer work was included in 
these experiments. The plots of land were analyzed and 
special study was made of the effect of continuous and rotation 
cropping on the soil's supply of nitrogen and humus. 

This experimental work at the Minnesota Station is 
especially valuable in making comparisons between the cost 
per acre of continuous and rotation cropping. The Minne- 
sota Experiment Station has accumulated many reliable 
and scientific data on the subject of "costs of farming" that 

Table VIII. Comparisons of Yields of Corn Grown Continuously 
with Corn Grown in Three and Five-Year Rotations for Five 
Years. 

(Table II, Bulletin 125, Minnesota Agricultural Expt. Station.) 









Corn in 






Corn in 


5-year 






3-year 


rotation: 






rotation: 


corn, 


Year. 


Corn con- 


corn, 


wheat, 




tinuously. 


wheat. 


meadow, 




no manure 


clover 


pasture. 






no manure 


oats, 
manure 


1899 bushels 


20.8 


51.1 


31.3 


1900 


37.5 


42.6 


58.0 


1901 " 


13.9 


42.0 


42.8 


1903 " 


23.6 


54.7 


85.3 


1904 " 


11.1 


45.1 


37.1 


Average, 5 years " 


21.4 


47.1 


50.9 


Average value 


$7.01 


$16.11 


$17.89 






Gain in yield over continuous cropping 


bushels 


25.7 


29.5 


Gain in value over continuous cropping 




$9.10 


$10.88 







Record of crop of 1902 lost. 



ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— MINNESOTA 



343 



are used to advantage in comparing the merits of contin- 
uous and rotation cropping. These rotation experiments 
are of value in studying effects of continuous and rotation 
cropping on the nitrogen and humus content of the soil. 

The most important features of this experimental work 
relative to crop rotation and soil fertility are given herewith. 



Table IX. Comparisons of Very Good and Very Poor Cropping 
Schemes. 



(Table IV, Bulletin 125, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.) 








Annual 














net 














profit 














per acre 


Loss or 


Loss or 








Rotation scheme 


(+) or 


gain of 


gain of 


When 








net loss 


nitrogen, 


carbon, 


manured 








(— ). 


1895- 


1895- 




G) 






1900- 


1904 


1904 






"S 




1909 








03 


s 
















Group 1. 














Very good cropping schemes 




Per cent 


Per cent 




I 


9 


1, wheat; 2, 3, meadow; 4, 














oats; 5, potatoes 


+$8.11 


+0.008 




1899,1904,1909 


IV 


10 


1, wheat; 2, 3, meadow. . . . 


+ 7.40 


+ .011 


' '+6.16 




IV 


8 


1, barley; 2, 3, 4, pasture; 5, 














corn 


+ 6.41 


+ .016 




1899, 1905. 


IV 


5 


1, corn; 2, rye and rape; 3, 














barley: 4, pasture 


+ 6.03 


+ .022 




1900,1904,1908 






Standard rotation, check 














plats, series I, II, III, 














IV, plat 1,6, 11; 1, corn; 














Z, wheat; 3, 4, meadow; 














5, oats 


+ 5.87 


+ .015 


+ .09 


18»»,1904,1»0« 


II 


4 


1. barley; 2, oats; 3, 4, 
timothy 


+ 5.82 




+ .15 




III 


7 


1, wheat; 2, permanent pas- 














ture 


+ 5.36 


+ .004 


+ .07 








Group 2. 














Very poor cropping schemes 










II 


7 


Corn in hills continuously. . 


— 1.47 


— .040 


— .54 




III 


9 


1, millet hay; 2, clover; plow 
under second crop 


— 2.03 


+ .007 






III 


10 


Rape continuously; drill; 
pasture off 


— 2.40 




+ .10 




II 


8 


Potatoes continuously 


— 3.17 


'— ' mi ' 


— .66 




11 


9 


Mangels continuously 


— 14.55 


— .033 


— .45 





344 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Note: The average, annual net profit or net loss per acre 
shown in this table is arrived at by giving each crop a gross value 
based on average December 1st farm prices for crops shown by the 
Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture, and sub- 
tracting therefrom the average cost of producing the crop as shown 
in Bulletin 117 of the Minnesota Experiment Station and page 490 
of this book. These figures represent the genuine net profit or net 
loss. All production costs were considered, including $3.50 per acre 
for land rental or interest on the land value. 

It may be noted from this table that the rotation schemes of 
cropping not only yielded greater net profits than the schemes of con- 
tinuous cropping, but also maintained or increased the humus and 
nitrogen content of the soil, whereas, nitrogen and humus decreased 
under the schemes of continuous cropping, particularly with a con- 
tinuous succession of cultivated crops. 



Table X. Comparative Yields of Com, Wheat, and Hay under 
Different Systems of Cropping. 1899-1907. 

(Table IX, Bulletin 125, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.) 





Corn 


Wheat 


Hay 


Year 


Corn 
con- 
tinu- 
ously 


Corn 

in 
3-year 
rota- 
tion 


Corn 

in 
5-year 
rota- 
tion 


Wheat 
con- 
tinu- 
ously 


Wheat 
in 

3-year 
rota- 
tion 


Wheat 
in 

5-year 
rota- 
tion 


Hay 
in 
3-year 
rota- 
tion 


Hay 

in 
5-year 
rota- 
tion 


1899 


Bushels 
20.8 
37.5 
13.9 
(1) 
23.6 
11.1 
25.1 
27.6 
23.6 


Bushels 
51.1 
42.6 
42.0 
62.0 
64.7 
45.1 
64.1 
36.1 
35.2 


Bushels 
31.3 
58.0 
42.8 
78.6 
85.3 
37.1 
64.4 
60.5 
52.2 


Bushels 
22.5 
14.5 
16.0 
17.0 
16.3 
20.8 
20.8 
14.1 
24.5 


Bushels 
25.3 
27.3 
13.5 
18.1 
24.4 
27.3 
20.6 
13.3 
19.1 


Bushels 
27.3 
25.6 
15.2 
25.1 
30.8 
32.0 
30.9 
22 6 
239 


Tons 


Tons 


1900 






1901 


1.58 
2.25 
3.86 
4.26 
4.86 
1.91 
125 


2.36 


1902 


1.95 


1903 


6.10 


1904 


5.77 


1905 


5.81 


1906 


3.18 


1907 


1.42 






Average, 9 years 


222.9 


48.1 
25.2 


56.7 
33.8 


18.5 


21.0 
2.4 


25 9 

7 4 


22.85 


33.80 
.95 









1 Record lost. 



2 Eight years. 



3 Seven years. 



Note: The plats continuously planted to one crop and the 
3-year rotation plats were not manured. The 5-year rotation plats 
received 8 tons of manure every fifth year. 



ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— MINNESOTA 



345 



Table XI. A Comparison between Continuous Cropping and 
Rotation Cropping at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment 
Station. Average Yields 10 Years, 1902-1911. 



Systems of Cropping 


Wheat 


Corn 


Oats 


Hay 


Mangels 


Wheat, continuously 


Bushels 

19.3 


Bushels 


Bushels 


Tons 


Tons 


Corn, continuously 


(a) 27.5 








Hay, continuously 






(b) 1.7 




Mangels, continuously .... 








3.8 


(c) Wheat, continuously . . . 
6 lbs. red clover annually . . 


22.1 
23.4 
27.0 
20.6 

27.4 










2-year rotation, wheat and 
mangels 

2-year rotation, wheat and 
annual pasture 

3-year rotation, wheat, clo- 
ver and corn 

5 -year rotation, wheat, 
meadow, pasture, oats, 
and corn 








9.2 










46.3 
61.3 


58.6 


(a) 2.7 

(b) 3.6 





Note : (a) Nine-year average, (b) Eight-year average, (c) Clover 
plowed under in the autumn. 

No manure was used on any fields except eight tons per acre 
applied "to the corn crop in the five-year rotation. 

The rotations were started in 1894. Yields are for the ten-year 
period 1902 to 1911. 

This table prepared by, and published through the courtesy of, 
Prof. Andrew Boss, Chief of the Division of Agronomy and Farm 
Management, Department of Agriculture, University of Minnesota. 



Siimmary of Rotation Experiments. (Bulletin 125, 
Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.) 

(1) Cultivated ci'ops, as corn, potatoes, and mangels, 
grown continuously, rapidly decrease the productivity of 
soils. This is largely due to the fact that cultivation stim- 
ulates decomposition of vegetable matter, leaving too small 
a supply of fresh vegetable matter in the soil. 

(2) Grain crops grown continuously decrease the pro- 
ductivity of soils. This, it is believed, is in part due to 
reducing the fresh vegetable matter which supports chemical 



546 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 




From Bui. 125, Minnesota Agr. Expt. Station. 
Corn on a plot growing corn continuously. Average yield for the last ten 
years of an eighteen year period of time 27.5 bushels per acre. 

and wholesome bacterial activity in the soil, and in part due 
to an increase in weeds. 

(3) A rotation of com, oats, millet, and barley, which 
tend to exhaust the supply of vegetable matter, did not 
produce better results than continuous wheat cropping. 

(4) A 2-year rotation of mangels and wheat, both of 
which reduce vegetable matter, gave little better yields of 
wheat than wheat continuously. 

(5) A 2-year rotation of wheat and annual pasture gave 
greatly increased yields of wheat, presumably in large part 
because the annual pasture crop added fresh vegetable 
matter to the soil, greatly increasing the bacterial and chemi- 
cal activities of the soil and improving its physical condition, 

(6) A 3-year rotation of corn, wheat, and clover with 
no manure did not give as large yields of corn and wheat as 
were obtained from a 5-year "standard" rotation of corn, 
wheat, meadow, pasture, and oats, with some manure applied 
to the corn. The lower yield on the 3-year rotation is pre- 



ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— MINNESOTA 



347 




From But. 125, Minnesota Agr. Expt. Station. 

Corn on a plot growing corn in a five-year rotation of corn, wheat, clover and 
timothy meadow, pasture, and oats. Eight tons of barnyard manure applied 
every five years. Average yield for the last ten years of an eighteen year period 
of time 61.3 bushels per acre, 

sumably due mainly to the fact that clover once in three 
years did not maintain the supply of fresh vegetable matter 
so fully as did the 5-year rotation with two grass crops and 
8 tons of manure once every five years. 

(7) Among the advantages of vegetable matter in the 
soil the following may be named: It aids aeration, retains 
moisture, deepens the soil, prevents baking, checks leaching 
and washing, stimulates decomposition, supplies easily usable 
plant food, affords favorable conditions for bacteria, increases 
chemical activities, and presumably aids in disposing of or 
neutralizing substances left by crops which are evidently 
toxic to the same or to other crops. 

(8) The combination of cultivated crops, grain crops, 
and grass crops, including clover, as in the 5-year standard 
rotation, not varying greatly from two fifths of the time in 
grass, results in substantial profits. 



348 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

(9) In a word, the best rotation schemes yield $12 
to $16 worth of crops, at a cost, including $3.50 rental, 
labor, and all other' expenses, of $7 to $11. With a net 
profit of $3 to $6 per acre, and under the conditions of the 
average farm there should be secured a net profit of $2 to $4 
per acre on all the cultivated acreage. 

Influence of Crop Rotation and Continuous Cultivation 
upon the Composition and Fertility of Soils. (Bulletin 109, 
Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, pp. 286, 332, 
334, 335, 336.) On most Western farms it is more economical 
at the present time to make the reserve mineral matter avail- 
able as plant food than to purchase new stores. In many 
soils there is a large amount which is not in the most available 
forms, but is capable of being made so by cultivation. It 
should be the aim to keep this reserve fertility in such a 
condition that it will gradually become available and can be 
drawn upon by future crops. When the soil is made to pro- 
duce one crop year after year, there is but little opportunity 
for the reserve fertihty to become available. * * * 

* * * Chemical and physical changes are continually 
taking place in the soil, and in some soils these changes are 
more rapid than in others. In the cultivation of the soil it 
should be the aim to assist nature in bringing about those 
changes which render the plant food available. 

* * * While a rotation of crops in which clover forms 
an essential part may result in maintaining the nitrogen and 
humus content, there is, after a series of years, a material 
loss of mineral plant food, as potash and phosphorus com- 
pounds. In fact, a rotation of crops removes more total 
mineral plant food from the soil than when a grain crop is 
grown continuously, and thus a rotation may hasten the 
exhaustion of fertility. A rotation of crops with the occasion- 
al use of farm manures and the production of clover will not 
indefinitely maintain the fertility of all soils; only those soils 
that are naturally fertile and contain large amounts of re- 
serve plant food will indefinitely respond to such a system 
of cropping. * * * 



ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— MINNESOTA 



349 



Table XII. Rotation Removes More Mineral Plant Food Than 
Continuous Cropping to Wheat. 



(Table XLI 


, Bulletin 109, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.) 


FIVE-YEAR ROTATION 
SERIES III. PLOT 1 


FERTILITY REMOVED 


Year 


Crop 


Yield 


Nitrogen 


Phosphorus 


Potassium 


1900 
1901 


Wheat 

Meadow 

Meadow 

Oats 

Corn 


23.3 bu. 
3.2 tons 
2.1 tons 

59.0 bu. 

58.3 bu. 


40.8 lbs. 


10.17 lbs. 
33.53 lbs. 
22.00 lbs. 
9.25 lbs. 
11.26 lbs. 


33.9 lbs. 
147 4 Iba 


1902 




96 5 lbs 


1903 
1904 


59.0 lbs. 
96.8 lbs. 


44.1 lbs. 

64.2 lbs. 


Total fertility removed in five 

years 

Fertility added by 8 T. manure. . 


196.6 lbs. 
81.6 lbs. 


86.21 lbs. 
24.45 lbs. 


386.1 lbs. 
67.7 lbs. 


Total lost by rotation 


115.0 lbs. 


61.76 lbs. 


318.4 lbs. 


WHEAT CONTINUOUSLY 
SERIES III. PLOT 2. 








(Total Yields 1900 to 1904 inc. 
84.6 bu.) 

Total fertility removed in five 
years 


148.0 lbs. 


36.94 lbs. 


122.8 lbs. 


Excess removed by rotation 


*-33 


24.82 lbs. 


195.6 lbs. 



Note: The figures for determining the amount of fertiUty 
removed by the various crops were taken from Prof. Snyder's "Soils 
and Fertihzers." The figures for determining the amount of plant 
food supplied by the manure were taken from Cornell Bulletin No. 27. 

No nitrogen is charged against the meadow crops as the crop 
was about one half timothy and one half clover, and it is assumed 
that the clover added as much nitrogen as both crops removed. 

* * * The indiscriminate practice of bare summer fal- 
lowing has been another cause of loss of the soil's nitrogen 



350 FIELD AIANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 




From Bui. 125, Minnesota Agr.Expt. Station. 

Vertical section of soil on a plot that has grown corn continuously for eigh- 
teen years. Note the absence of vegetable matter and the hard, compact, 
gritty appearance of the soil. 

and humus. The occasional fallowing of land to destroy 
insect pests and weed seed is often necessary, but the alter- 
nation of grain and summer fallowing is particularly destruc- 
tive to the humus by encouraging rapid decay with liberation 
of the nitrogen. Fallowing is temporarily beneficial, a few 
good crops being secured, but it is at the expense of perma- 
nent fertility. Experiments show that when summer fallow- 
ing is practiced five times more nitrogen is rendered soluble 
and available than is required for the succeeding crop; and 
the soluble nitrogen that is not utilized as plant food is readily 
lost. There is no soil so rich in nitrogen that it can endure 
the long continued practice of summer fallowing without 
ultimate decline in fertility. 

Particular stress is laid upon the nitrogen and humus 
of the soil, because they may be controlled by cultivation, 
and, if the humus and nitrogen content is maintained, the 
problem of fertility is greatly simplified. The maintenance 



ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— MINNESOTA 351 




From Bui. 125, Minnesota Agr. Expt. Station. 

Vertical section of soil near a corn plant growing on newly broken alfalfa sod. 
Note the presence of vegetable matter, and the loamy, friable appearance of the 
soil. 

of the mineral plant food of the soil cannot be neglected; 
but the mineral matter is not subject to such large gains and 
losses as the nitrogen. * * * 

* * * On some soils the rotation of crops only hastens 
exhaustion of the fertility by causing a larger total amount 
of plant food to be removed, and where large reserves do 
not exist in the soil the use of commercial fertilizers will be 
necessary. At the present time and in the case of prairie 
soils that are beginning to show the effects of excessive grain 
production, rotation of crops and the production of clover 
will be more beneficial than any other means for restoring 
fertility. This will assist in securing larger yields for a 
series of years, but will not prove the final solution of the 
problem of maintaining the fertility of the soil. * * * 

* * * Commercial fertilizers should not be used indis- 
criminately on old soils with a view of securing large yields, 



352 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

and it is not feasible by their use alone to economically restore 
the fertility to soils that have been impoverished by exclu- 
sive cropping to small grains. Commercial fertilizers are of 
great value when judiciously employed in a rotation and for 
encouraging the growth of legumes, as clover, so as to add 
nitrogen to the soil from atmospheric sources. It is believed 
that when they are used in this way they will prove bene- 
ficial and remunerative. Before applying them in large 
amounts it is recommended that farmers make preliminary 
trials on a small scale to determine the actual needs of the 
soil, so that unnecessary elements of plant food be not pur- 
chased. Commercial fertilizers cannot take the place of 
farm manures or crop residues, particularly those from clover 
and timothy, for permanently improving the soil; but they 
aid in the production of some crops and often assist a crop, 
as clover, which in turn is beneficial in adding nitrogen and 
humus to the soil. 

Commercial fertilizers should be used in connection 
with crop rotations, farm manures, and clover production, 
rather than as the only means of increasing the fertility. 
When judiciously used, they have a proper place in our agri- 
culture; but when indiscriminately applied, there is gener- 
ally a financial loss. 



23 



CHAPTER II 

CROPPING SYSTEMS FOR WHEAT IN NORTH 
DAKOTA 

The crop rotation experiments of the North Dakota 
Agricultural Experiment Station were begun in 1892, and 
the original plans were discontinued in 1907 to make way 
for a new group of rotation experiments better adapted to 
diversified types of farming and the present agricultural 
conditions of North Dakota. The experimental data here 
quoted were gathered during the period 1892 to 1907 while 
the agriculture of North Dakota was quite young and when 
wheat culture was the universal farm enterprise of the state. 

These data are of particular interest to students of soil 
fertility, crop rotation, and permanent systems of farming, 
because they illustrate certain elementary principles in the 
maintenance of soil productivity, such as the value of inter- 
tilled crops in rotation with thickly sown grain crops, and 
also the value of humus producing, nitrogen gathering 
legume crops in rotations with thickly sown grain crops. 
These experiments are also interesting in that they illustrate 
the rapid changes that take place in the soil of a new agri- 
cultural region after the pioneer days are over. Evidently 
the experiments were planned to prove to an unbelieving 
population of continuous wheat growers the vital and fun- 
damental facts about soil productivity. Wheat was included 
prominently in all the rotation plans, and the plans were so 
projected as to show the influence of inter-tilled crops, animal 
manures, green manures, and bare fallow on the yield of 
wheat. These experiments illustrate the elementary facts 
about soil productivity very nicely and show how quickly 
in the history of a rich soil area the available stores of virgin 
fertility are taken up by crops, and how quickly the need 



354 



FIELD 3IANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



arises for cropping systems that will somewhat check the 
sale of plant food from the soil and liberate supplies of avail- 
able plant food from the reserve supplies in all naturally- 
fertile soils. 

The most striking features of the cropping system exper- 
iments of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station 
are herewith quoted from Bulletin 100 of that Station (pp. 5, 
6, 7, 8, 25, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45.) 

Table XIII. Composition of Typical Soils of the Red River 

Valley in North Dakota. 

Pounds per Acre in Two Million — about 7 Inches of Soil. 

(Table I, Bulletin 100, North Dakota Agricultural 

Experiment Station.) 



Locality 



Total 
Nitrogen 



ACID SOLUBLE 



Phosphorus Potassium 



Bathgate . . . 

Fargo 

Wahpeton. . 
(Average) 



7,560 
7,200 
5,520 
6,760 



1,460 
2,520 
1,040 
1,673 



11,560 

13,600 

6,540 

10,566 



Note: These samples were taken from fields that are repre- 
sentative of the Red River Valley. It is evident that these soils are 
well suppUed with the important elements of plant food. That the 
black soil of the Red River Valley contains a comparatively large 
amount of the important elements of plant food is evident. The 
soils used in making these analyses have been cropped in much the 
same manner as the average farm in the Red River Valley. At the 
time the sample was taken at Fargo the land had grown at least nine- 
teen successive crops of wheat. The other samples were taken from 
land that, previous to its use as a demonstration farm, had been cropped 
by farmers without any special effort to maintain its fertility. In their 
virgin state these soils would have no doubt shown a higher percentage 
of the important elements than some of the most productive lands of 
the corn belt. 

It is evident, therefore, that our problem is not one of building 
up worn out lands, but of making the best use of an adequate supply 
of plant food supplementing it as much as possible with manures in 
order that this supply may be maintained for future production. 
Briefly this will be accomplished by through tillage, drainage, proper 
rotation of crops and the rational use of manures. 



ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— NORTH DAKOTA 



355 



* * * The original purpose of these crop rotation ex- 
periments was to determine the influence of various crops, 
and the cultivation incident to their production, upon the 
yield of succeeding crops of wheat. For this reason wheat 
is the most prominent crop in all of the rotations. * * * 

* * * These experiments were conducted on a nearly 
level forty acres of typical Red River Valley land having 
fair surface drainage provided by roadside ditches. The 
land was exceptionally uniform in physical texture as well 
as in chemical composition as revealed by analyses. The 
land was broken about 1882 and had borne continuous crops 
of wheat until 1892. 

Table XIV. Average Yields of Wheat on Plots Cropped Contin- 
uously and in Rotation. 

(Table V, BuUetin 100, North Dakota Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station.) 



Yield per acre of all plots 
continuous wheat 
Average 12 years 


Average yield per acre 

all plots in rotation 

Average 15 years 


Increase due to 
-otation 


13.13 bu. 


19.12 bu. 


5.99 bu. 



The Influence of Corn in Rotation with Wheat. It is 

quite generally recognized that the cultivation given the corn 
crop improves the physical, chemical and biological relations of 
the soil so that it is in better condition for wheat production. 
In order to get at the benefits measured by crop yield, 
plots 5 and 6 (as shown in the following table) were cropped 
to corn one year followed by three years of wheat. Plot 
6 received an application of six loads of rotten manure per 
acre. No application of manure was made to plot 5. The 
yields for these two plots are summarized and compared 
with the yields on plot 2 which has been in wheat contin- 
uously during the period. The yields for the first year and 
the second year after corn are the average of four crops, and 
the yields the third year after corn are the average of three 
crops. 



356 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Table XV. The Influence of Corn on Succeedmg Wheat Yields. 

(Table VIII, Bulletin 100, North Dakota Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station.) 





Wheat 
after 


1st Year after 


2nd Year after 


3rd Year after 


Plot 


Bushels 
Yield 


Bushels 
Increase 


Bushels 
Yield 


Bushels 
Increase 


Bushels 
Yield 


Bushels 
Increase 


2 
5 
6 


Wheat 
Corn 
Corn 


11.27 
19.14 
20.48 


7'.87 
9.11 


15.39 
22.96 
25.85 


' ' 7^57 ' 
10.46 


19.40 

21.80 

25.78 


' ' 2.40 ' ' 
6.38 



Note: The highest yields were obtained the second year after 
corn. This group of years was somewhat more favorable for wheat 
production than either of the other two, but the yields on the con- 
tinuous wheat plot indicate that the first group of years was by far 
the most unfavorable. The real test of the influence of the corn, 
however, is measured by the increase in yield over continuous wheat. 
The significant facts brought out by the above data are as follows: 

(1) The culture of corn increased succeeding wheat yields. 

(2) The benefit of the corn crop is greatest in the two years 
immediately succeeding the year in which it is grown. 

(3) An application of farm manure once in four years increases 
the yields of wheat in a rotation with corn. 

(4) The beneficial effects of such manuring extended over a 
longer period than the effects of corn in the rotation. 

The Influence of Potatoes in Rotation with Wheat. The 

culture given potatoes is quite similar to that given corn and 
as potatoes can be marketed directly to better advantage 
than corn in this locality, providing there is a shipping poirit 
close at hand, some farmers prefer to raise them as a culti- 
vated crop. In order to determine the effect of potato 
culture on succeeding wheat yields, a rotation consisting of 
potatoes one year and wheat three years was started on 
plot 20 in 1896. Plot 19 was originally planned to be seeded 
to wheat continuously and was continued as such until 1900. 
Comparisons can, therefore, be made between these two plots 
for one four-year period. 



ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— NORTH DAKOTA 



357 




Photo by courtesy N. S. Davies, Red River Valley Development Association. 
In the northern part of the North Central states potatoes are an important 
"cultivated crop."_ The ijotato crop_ fits the land in fine shape for small grain 
and is of great assistance in controlling weeds. 



Table XVI. The Influence of Potatoes on Succeeding Wheat 

Yields. 

(Table IX, Bulletin 100, North Dakota Agricultural 
Experiment Station.) 



Plot 


Wheat 
after 


First Year 
Bushels per Acre 


Second Year 
Bushels per Acre 


Third Year 
Bushels per Acre 


19 
20 


Wheat 
Potatoes 


18.30 
16.80 


17.28 
30.57 


17.48 
21.65 


Increase 

or 
Decrease 


-1.50 


+ 13.29 


+4.17 



Note: While the period during which this work was conducted 
was too short to draw any definite conclusions, it is evident that the 
introduction of potatoes into the rotation has a marked beneficial 



358 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



effect on wheat yields. As was the case with corn, the beneficial effects 
were not as marked the third year after potatoes were grown as the 
second year. 

The Influence of Field Peas in Rotation with Wheat. It 

is often desirable and sometimes necessary to replace a 
biennial or perennial legume with an annual legume. The 
latter fit into short rotations a little better and, as a rule, it 
is comparatively easy to secure a stand. If, for any reason, 
a stand of clover is not obtained the previous year, the land 
must be seeded to an annual legume, if the rotation is to be 
maintained without interruption. For the Northwest, field 
peas have proved to be the most satisfactory legume crop. 
In order to determine the influence of field peas on wheat 
yields, a rotation consisting of peas one year and wheat three 
years was carried out on plots 7 and 8. The pea crop was 
removed from plot 7, and plowed under on plot 8. The 
following table shows a comparison of the yields of these 
plots with those on plot 2, the continuous wheat plot for the 
same year. 



Table XVII. The Influence of Field Peas on Succeeding Wheat 

Crops. 

(Table XII, Bulletin 100, North Dakota Agricultural 
Experiment Station.) 





Wheat 
after 


First Year 


Second Year 


Third Year 


Plot 


Bushels 
Yield 


Bushels 
Increase 


Bushels 
Yield 


Bushels 
Increase 


Bushels 
Yield 


Bushels 
Increase 


?, 


WTieat 
Peas 
Peas 


11.27 
17.80 
15.91 




15.39 
17.32 
19.49 




19.37 
19.08 
21.73 




7 
8 


6.53 
4.64 


1.93 
4.10 


—0.29 
2.36 



Note: The turning under of the pea crop failed to produce an 
increase in wheat yield the first year after, but there was a gain of 
2.17 bushels the second year, and 2.65 bushels the third year attrib- 
utable to the green manuring. A study of this data indicates that 
green manuring with field peas does not give immediate results in a 
soil well supplied with organic matter, but that, when such manuring 



ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— NORTH DAKOTA 



359 



is practiced regularly, the beneficial effects ai-e cumulative. In the 
last half of the period the yield on the green manured plot was greater 
than on that from which the peas were removed. The plot from which 
the peas were removed showed an increase in yield over the con- 
tinuous wheat plot the first and second years, but the beneficial effects 
did not extend to the third crop of wheat following. 

The Influence of Summer Fallow on Succeeding Wheat 
Yields. One of the greatest impediments to the continuous 
production of wheat on the same land is the rapid increase 
of certain weeds due to the carrying over of the seed from 
one year to another. In the past, summer fallow has been 
one of the most common methods of cleaning the land of 
weeds in this state. In order to determine the influence of 
fallow on succeeding wheat crops, plots 4, 15 and 26 were 
fallowed every fourth year and seeded to wheat the three 
remaining years. * * * A comparison of the yields of the 
first, second and third wheat crops after fallow with contin- 
uous wheat is given in the following table. 



Table XVHI. 



The Influence of Fallow on Succeeding Wheat 
Crops. 



(Table XIV, Bulletin 100, North Dakota Agricultural 
Experiment Station.) 







First Year 


Seeon 


d Year 


Third Year 


Plot 


Wheat 
after 


















Bushels 


Bushels 


Bushels 


Bushels 


Bushels 


Bushels 






Yield 


Increase 


Yield 


Increase 


Yield 


Increase 


2 


Wheat 


11.27 




15.39 




19.37 




4 


Fallow 


16.93 


5.66 


22.26 


6.87 


27.30 


7.93 


15 


Fallow 


20.89 


9.62 


18.51 


3.12 


22.53 


3.16 


26 


FaUow 


16.55 


5.28 


19.00 


3.61 


21.08 


1.61 



Note: Plots 4 and 26. were plowed twice and plot 15 was plowed 
but once, in July. The extra plowing in the fall failed to produce an 
increase in yield of the wheat crops, as indicated by the difference 
between plots 15 and 26. The yields of plot 4 are not strictly compar- 
able on this point, because the fallow was manured with six loads of 
rotten manure on this plot. The same general tendency of the yields 
to be maintained after fallow for a longer period, when manured as 



360 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



was noted when corn was manured in the rotation, is evidenced in the 
data. The figures indicate that fallow produces a marked increase 
in yield the first and second years and to a lesser degree in the third 
year after having been fallowed. It is usually considered, however, 
to be more economical to have corn take the place of fallow on account 
of the income received fi'om the corn crop. 

The Relation of Active Organic Matter in the Soil to 
Wheat Yields. The soils of the Red River Valley are very- 
high in their content of organic matter, but some of these 
have been cropped for some time without the return of organic 
manures, and the greater part of this organic matter is in the 
more advanced stages of decay. In this form it decays 
very slowly and has only a slight effect on the availability 
of the mineral elements of plant food in the soil. 

There are two plots in Series I. which show the ett'ect 
of farm manure applied once in a four-year cropping system. 
As an average, manure has produced an increase in the 
yields of all crops on each of these plots. * * * The most 
satisfactory method for calculating this increase is on the 
percentage basis. 

Table XIX. The Increase in Wheat Yield Due to Farm Manure, 
by Courses, 1892-1906. 

(Table XVIII, Bulletin 100, North Dakota Agricultural 
Experiment Station.) 





Manure 
applied to 


Per Cent Increase 




1st Course 


2nd Course 


3rd Course 


4th Course 


6 
10 


Corn 
Millet 


5.5 
6.1 


9.3 
10.1 


21.5 
33.0 


(*) 12.5 
(*) 30.2 



(*) Three year period only. 

Note: There has been a gradual rise in the percentage of in- 
crease as the years have advanced with the exception of the last course. 
In this case, however, the yields of wheat for only two years are avail- 
able and in one of these years (1905) the rainfall was the highest that 
has been recorded at the Experiment Station. It is a well established 
fact tlaat manure does not show as much beneficial effect in wet years 



ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— NORTH DAKOTA 361 

as in dry years, hence very little increase would be expected on the 
clay soil of the Red River Valley in a year that the rainfall was 17.22 
inches in April, May, June and July, as was the case in 1905. As 1906 
was not an especially favorable year for wheat the yields were low and 
the increase less striking. If the third wheat crop in this course had 
been harvested, the increase might have been as great as in the third 
course. 

In the past very little attention has been given to the 
production, management and use of farm manures on many 
of the farms of the state. The manure produced by the work 
stock has been allowed to accumulate and remain exposed 
for years and the greater part of its fertilizing value lost. 
The failure to appreciate the value of manure has been 
largely due to the fact, that, under our climatic conditions, 
organic manures do not decay rapidly enough to show marked 
results the first year or so. 

Another mistake has been made in plowing under fresh 
manure for small grain. The manure should be applied 
when fresh to pasture land which is to be broken, or should 
be plowed under for corn which is to be followed by small 
grains. It is thus given a chance to decay in the soil before 
the land is seeded to small grains. 

It is quite evident that the maintenance of the supply of 
organic matter has a very important bearing upon wheat 
production and that, while the yield is increased the first 
few years to a marked degree, the yields are more striking 
as the years advance, indicating that the results are cumula- 
tive and extend over a period of years. 

Futhermore, in the early years of the experiment the 
soil contained a high percentage of native organic matter 
in the early stages of decay and hence did not respond to the 
manure as much as it did later when this natural supply had 
been materially reduced by cropping. 

Two plots in this series furnish us data relative to the 
effect of green manure upon the yield of wheat. The field 
peas which were seeded on plot 8 every four years were 
plowed under for green manure, and the millet, occupying a 
similar place in the cropping system on plot 1 1 , was plowed 
under. By comparing the yields on these plots with those 
on plots 7 and 9 (similar rotations including peas and millet. 



362 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



but with all crops removed from the land) the increase due 
to ,the green manuring can be calculated. The increase 
expressed in percentage is given herewith. 

Table XX. The Influence of Green Manuring on Wheat Yields 
by Courses, 1892-1906. 

(Table XIX, Bulletin 100, North Dakota Agricultural 
Experiment Station.) 





Green 

Manured 

with 


Per Cent Decrease or Increase 




1st Course 


2nd Course 


3rd Course 


4th Course 


8 
11 


Field Peas 
MiUet 


—9.6 
+ .6 


—6.9 
—7.0 


+.33.2 
+ 10.0 


+ 17.6 
+10.5 



Note: If we consider the first two courses only, green manur- 
ing has been a failure, but the later data shows it to be of marked 
benefit. In fact, the increase of the last two courses has more than 
offset the decrease in the first two. 

It is evident that the soil was so high in native organic matter 
in the early years that the artificial supply was unnecessary. As 
the years advanced, however, the original supply became depleted 
rapidly and an increase in yield resulted from the residual effects of 
the green manures plowed under in the early years of the experiment. 

Under our climatic conditions plant tissues decay 
rather slowly and, when plowed under in large amounts, 
they separate the plowed soil from the lower soil layers for 
some time. When the soil is plowed early in the fall and 
seeded to wheat early in the spring, not enough tillage is given 
to fill all of the open spaces between the plant stems and 
effect capillarity. As a result, many of the wheat plants 
on such land suffer from lack of water even in periods of 
moderate drouth. This could be avoided if a cultivated 
crop like corn, potatoes or other roots, were planted the 
first year after the green manuring. The soil is prepared 
for these crops later in the spring and the inter-tillage given 
them extends well into the summer. More water is con- 
served in the soil by this means and the open spaces between 



ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— NEBRASKA 363 

the plant stems are filled in with soil. The result is that 
they decay more rapidly and the re-establishment of normal 
movement of soil water is more immediate. 

Green manuring with field peas has produced a larger 
average increase than with millet. This is probably due 
in part to the higher nitrogen content of the peas, part of 
which is obtained from the atmosphere. There is some 
addition of organic matter to the soil when millet is plowed 
under, but all of the nitrogen in the millet crop has been 
obtamed from the soil, and hence there is no actual addition 
of this element. The continued green manuring with 
millet or any non-legume would produce soil organic matter 
of a low nitrogen content. As time advances, it would be 
necessary for decay to take place more rapidly in order to 
produce enough nitrogen to meet the demands of a maximum 
crop. While nitrogen is probably not as yet a limiting 
factor on the soils of the Red River Valley, their native sup- 
ply has been materially reduced and some attention should 
be given to its maintenance by the application of manures 
and the placing of legume crops in the rotation. 



CHAPTER III 

CO-OPERATIVE ROTATION AND FERTILIZER 
TESTS— NEBRASKA 

(Bulletin 122, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station p. 6). 

****** * Reports from thirty-one Nebraska 
farmers from 1906 to 1908 show that they had an average 
yield of 34.5 bushels of corn per acre on land before seeding 
it to clover and alfalfa, and 68.2 bushels when the field 
was plowed up and again planted to corn. Co-operative 
fertilizer tests carried on by this department on Nebraska 
farms show that the plots which were not treated averaged 
25 bushels of corn per acre, while the ones to which barnyard 
manure had been added gave an average yield of 36.5 
bushels. * * * 



CHAPTER IV 



CONTINUOUS AND ROTATION CROPPING, WITH 

AND WITHOUT MANURE OR COMMERCIAL 

FERTILIZERS— OHIO 

Experimental field evidence from the Ohio Experiment 
Station, at Wooster, relative to the maintenance of soil fer- 
tility, is the most complete and authentic of any available 
in the United States. The work was started in 1893 and 
the investigational data herewith given covers periods of 
time from fifteen to twenty years. 

In the accompanying tables and notes the figures are 
taken exactly from the published reports of the Ohio sta- 
tion, although some rearrangement has been made for the 
sake of conciseness and popular presentation. 

Table XXI. Crops Grown in Continuous Culture with and without 
Fertilizers. Average Annual Yields and Increases Due to 
Fertilizers. 19 Years, 1894 to 1912. 

(Table 1, Circular 131, Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station.) 



6 

o 


Fertilizing Materials, Pounds per Acre 


Yield 
Per Acre 


Increase 
Per Acre 


Bus. 
Grain 


Lbs. 
Stover 

or 
Straw 


Bus. 
Grain 


Lbs. 
Stover 

or 
Straw 



CORN 



Average of 4 plots unfertilized 

Acid phos. 160; muriate of potash 100; 

nitrate of soda 160 

Yard manure 2 Y^ tons 

Yard manure 5 tons 

Acid phos. 160; muriate of potash 100; 

nitrate of soda 320 



15.88 
42.09 


1245 
2346 




22.65 


27.67 


1781 


12.21 


37.64 


2154 


22.51 


47.24 


2431 


33.50 



972 
547 
933 

1282 



SOIL FERTILITY EXPERIMENTS— OHIO 



365 



OATS 





Average of 4 plots unfertilized 

Acid phos. 160; muriate of potash 100; 
nitrate of soda 160 


22.92 

41.41 
30.80 
38.29 

47.39 


921 

1949 
1274 
1821 

2497 






2 


20.31 

7.65 

14.71 

23.77 


1124 


5 


Yard manure 2 }/2 tons 


347 


6 


Yard manure 5 tons 


862 


8 


Acid phos. 160; muriate of potash 100; 
nitrate of soda 320 


1506 



WHEAT 





Average of 4 plots unfertiHzed 

Acid phos. 160; muriate potash 100; 
nitrate soda 120; dried blood 50. . . . 

Yard manure 2 }i tons 

Yard manure 5 tons 


7.52 

19.05 
13.33 
17.41 

21.96 


938 

2474 
1699 
2212 

2858 






2 

5 

6 


11.48 
5.47 
9.59 

14.45 


1458 

744 

1250 


8 


Acid phos. 160; muriate potash 100; 
nitrate soda 280; dried blood 50. . . . 


1931 



Note: The increase in yield of the fertilized plots over the 
unfertihzed plots has been computed by the Ohio Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station on the assumption that changes in the natural fer- 
tiUty of the soil in experimental fields are Ukely to be progressive, 
that is to say; that if the yields of plots 1 and 4 unfertilized were 30 
and 33 bushels respectively, the yields of plots 2 and 3 would probably 
have been 31 and 32 bushels respectively, had no fertihzers been ap- 
plied. Thus in these tables showing increased yield of fertihzed plots 
over unfertilized plots, the increase shown is not computed by making 
a comparison of the yield of each fertihzed plot with an average of 
yield from all unfertilized plots, but is computed by means of a com- 
parison with adjoining unfertilized plots that aims to ehminate all 
differences in yield caused by variations in the natural fertility of 
the soil. This method of computing increase in yields is followed in 
all reports on crop yields from this Experiment Station. 

This table does not show the complete records for continuous 
crop culture, with and without fertihzers, at the Ohio Experiment 
Station. In order to simplify the comparisons the two highest yield- 
ing fertilized plots and the plots fertihzed with barnyard manure 
have been selected to compare with continuously cropped plots with- 
out fertilizers. 

The fertilizing materials are valued at a fraction over S16.00 per 
ton for acid phosphate; 2}4 cents per pound for muriate of potash; 
and 3 cents per pound for nitrate of soda. 



366 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



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SOIL FERTILITY EXPERIMENTS— OHIO 367 



TABLE XXII. 

Note: The crop yields from each of ten plots receiving varying 
amounts of fertilizers are here compared with the average yield from 
ten plots receiving no fertilizers. All plots, both fertilized and un- 
fertilized, are in a 5-course rotation of corn, oats, wheat, clover and 
timothy, and clover and timothy. From the complete experiment 
records of the Ohio Experiment Station the six plots in this rotation 
have been selected showing the largest net gain from the use of com- 
mercial fertilizers, (plots No. 2, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 21); the two plots 
showing the largest net loss from the use of fertihzers, (plots 5 and 9) ; 
and the two plots which were fertilized with barnyard manure only 
(plot No. 18 received 16 tons barnyard manure every 5 years, and 
plot No. 20 received 8 tons every 5 years). The cost of the com- 
mercial fertilizers, value of crop increase secured from their use, and 
the net gain or loss arising from the use of fertilizers are shown in 
Table XXIII. This table (No. XXII) is of value in making comparisons 
of yields of staple field crops in a 5-course rotation without manure 
or commercial fertilizers, with yields from the same crops in a similar 
rotation receiving applications of barnyard manure and commercial 
fertilizers. 

TABLE XXIIL 

Note: The figures shown in this table are based on the crop 
yields shown in Table XXII. Crop increases in comparison with un- 
fertiUzed plots are computed by the methods described in the note 
accompanying Table XXI. 

This table does not show a record of all plots in the 5-year rota- 
tion experiment at the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, but 
only the six plots showing the largest net gain from the use of fertili- 
zers; the two plots showing the largest net loss from the use of fertilizers; 
and two plots that received applications of barnyard manure only. 

The fertilizing materials are valued at a fraction over $16.00 
per ton for acid phosphate; 2V^ cents per pound for muriate of potash 
and 3 cents per pound for nitrate of soda. 

Market value is the nearest practical approach to a common 
denominator for the various kinds of produce grown in this rotation. 
Therefore, the crop increases resulting from the use of various ferti- 
lizing materials are given a market value, corn being rated at 40 cents 
per bu., oats at 30 cents, wheat at 80 cents, hay at $8.00 per ton, corn 
stover at $3.00 per ton, and straw at $2.00 per ton. These values 
are below present prices for grain, but not far from the average values 
during the period of the test. 



368 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



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" 1 



SOIL FERTILITY EXPERIMENTS— OHIO 369 



This table shows that the effectiveness of the fertilizers and ma- 
nure has increased with each successive rotation period, the greatest 
relative increase being shown by the manure. The use of nitrate of 
soda or muriate of potash, unaccompanied by some carrier of phosphor- 
us, produced a loss in each rotation period and in the average for 
nineteen years. Nevertheless, both nitrogen and potassium are es- 
sential to the highest net profit as shown by comparing plot 2 receiving 
phosphorus only with plot 8 receiving potassium in addition, and with 
plot 11 receiving these with nitrogen. 

The most interesting feature of this table is the increase produced 
through the use of yard manure in the rotation. Plot 18, receiving 
16 tons of manure once in five years, leads all other plots in average 
increase over the unfertiUzed plots for nineteen years. Plot 20, also, 
receiving but eight tons of manure once in five years, produced a very 
substantial crop increase, as compared with the unfertilized plots, 
and an increase that compares favorably with many of the plots receiv- 
ing expensive applications of commercial fertilizers. 

The Ohio Experiment Station has not set a cost price on the 
manure used in this experiment and thus no net gain appears to com- 
pare with net gain or loss from the use of commercial fertilizers. In 
farm practice manure is a by-product of crop production and the 
feeding of live stock, and there is no cost attached to it other than 
the labor cost of hauling it out to the land. On the average Ameri- 
can farm the cost of hauling and distributing eight tons of manure 
would not exceed $3.00, and $6.00 for 16 tons, and would probably 
average less. Using these costs, however, the net gain from the use of 
16 tons of yard manure would be $33.84 per acre for each 5-year rota- 
tion cycle, and the net gain from the use of eight tons of yard manure 
would be $21.54 per acre for each 5-year rotation cycle, thus giving the 
manured plots the highest net gains of all plots in the experiment. 

la actual farm practice the fertihzing of land with the amounts 
of commercial fertilizers used on plots 8, 11, 17 and 21 (the four fer- 
tilized plots having highest net gain) would lay a financial burden on 
the farm manager that in many cases would be difficult to meet. Such 
fertilizers would cost from $2.00 to $3.50 per acre annually, and, while 
the net gain might justify the investment, the practice would annually 
tie up a considerable portion of the farmer's capital and in many cases 
be entirely impractical. 

It may easily be seen from this experiment that a judicious com- 
bination of yard manure and phosphorus in this rotation would pro- 
duce large crop increases with a large net gain and with an investment 
in fertilizers so small as to be entirely practical for the average Ameri- 
can farmer. 



370 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Table XXIV. Three-Course Rotation of Corn, Wheat and Clover. 
Yields from Unfertilized Plots Compared with Yields from Plots 
Fertilized with Complete Fertilizers, Stall Manure Alone, and 
Stall Manure in Combination with Raw Phosphate, Acid Phos- 
phate and Kainit. 16 Years, 1897-1912. 
(Table VIII, Circular 131, Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station.) 



Plot 
No. 


Fertilizing Materials in Tons and 

Pounds per Acre for Each 

Rotation Cycle 


(*) Corn 
15 Crops 


(*) Wheat 
15 Crops 


(t)Lb8. 

Clover 
Hay 
per 


Bus. 

Grain 

per 

Acre 


Lbs. 

Stover 

per 

Acre 


Bus. 

Grain 

per 

Acre 


Lbs. 

Straw 

per 

Acre 


Acre 

12 
Crops 


Average yield of 8 plots un- 
fertilized 


34.39 


2169 


10.63 


1310 


2697 


3 
6 
9 


Stall manure 8 tons ; 

raw phosphate rock 320 lbs. 
Stall manure 8 tons; acid 

phosphate 320 lbs 

Stall manure 8 tons; kainit 

320 lbs 


65.41 

66.05 

61.04 
59.49 

46.20 
45.54 


3680 

3581 

3548 
3358 

2731 
2549 


25.39 

25.47 

21.85 
20.69 

14.22 
14.49 


2791 

2837 

2596 
2368 

1701 
1804 


5021 
5077 

4490 


16 
18 

19 


Stall manure only, 8 tons .... 
Acid phos. 80 lbs; muriate of 
potash 80 lbs; nit. soda 160 
Acid phosphate 80 lbs; mu- 
riate of potash 10 lbs; tank- 
age (7-30) 100 lbs 


4149 

3248 

3382 



(*) Excluding crop of 1909 which was so injured by grub worms that no com- 
parisons are possible. 

(t) During the first three seasons of this rotation the clover crop failed and 
soy beans were sown and plowed under. 

Note: In this table six plots in the experiment have been 
selected to compare with the unfertilized plots. The complete ex- 
periment includes a comparison of yard and stable manure as well as 
the use of gypsum. 

There are two features of this experiment that are worthy of special 
note, (1) the approximately equal increases secured by raw phosphate 
rock and acid phosphate in combination with manure, and (2) the 
increase of yield from manure and raw phosphate as compared with 
mamu-e alone and manure in combination with potash in kainit. 

It may be noted from Table XXV, that the 320 pounds of raw phos- 
phate rock cost but 58% of the cost of acid phosphate, and from Table 
I, it may be noted that the 320 pounds of raw phosphate rock carries 
nearly twice as much phosphorus as the acid phosphate. 



SOIL FERTILITY EXPERIMENTS— OHIO 



371 



Table XXV. Three-Course Rotation of Corn, Wheat and Clover. 
Average Annual Increase per Acre of Fertilized Plots over Un- 
fertilized Plots. Cost of Fertilizers per Acre per Rotation Cycle. 
Total and Net Value of Increases per Acre per Rotation. 16 
Years, 1897-1912. 

(Table IX, Circular 131, Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station.) 





Fertilizing Materials in 

Tons and Pounds per 

Acre for Each Rotation 

Cycle 


Average Annual Increase per 
Acre 


< 
0. 

2 

u 
— d 

^t 
oPc3 
S a) 


Value of 
Increase 


Plot 
No. 


Corn 
15 Crops 


Wheat 
15 Crops 


a 

■So, 
S o 

CM 


•2 

V o 
"=4 2 






J2 ^ 




■S.s 


3 is 




3 

6 
9 


Stall manure 8 tons ; 
Raw phosphate rock 320 

lbs 

Stall manure 8 tons ; . . . 
Acid phosphate 320 lbs . . . 
Stall manure 8 tons; 
Kainit 320 lbs 


31.67 

34.95 

28.49 
23.88 

10.21 

10.97 


1,514 

1,561 

1,519 
1,091 

485 

421 


14.42 

15.75 

12.16 
10.32 

3.90 

4.45 


1,462 

1,630 

1,373 
1,085 

378 

484 


2,423 

2,724 

2,022 
1,520 

513 

646 


Vols. 

1.40 
2.40 

2.70 

7.45 
2.30 


Dols. 

37.63 

41.45 

32.87 
26.61 

10.14 

11.37 


Dols. 

36.23 
39.05 

30.17 


16 • 

18 

19 


Stall manure only 8 tons. . 
Acid phosphate 80 lbs.; 
Muriate of potash 80 lbs. ; 
Nitrate of soda 160 lbs. . . 
Acid phosphate 80 lbs. ; 
Muriate of potash 10 lbs.; 
Tankage (7-30) 100 lbs. . . 


2.69 
9.07 



Note: The increased yields of fertilized plots over unfertilized 
plots, shown in this table, are computed from figures in Table XXIV, 
by methods outlined in note accompanying Table XXI. 

In giving crop increases a cash value the average prices of 40 cts. 
per bushel for corn, 80 cents per bushel for wheat, $8.00 per ton for 
clover hay, $3.00 per ton for corn stover, and $2.00 per ton for straw, 
have been used. 

The Ohio Experiment Station has reckoned no costs for the ma- 
nure in this table and, therefore, no net value is shown for the plot 
receiving stall manure only. If we assume an arbitrary, approximate 
cost of $3.00 for distributing eight tons of manui-e, the net value of 
the increase on the plot receiving manure only is $23.61; manure and 
rock phosphate, $33.23; manure and acid phosphate, $36.05; and 
manure and kainit, $27.17. 

It should be noted how much gi'eater the net value of the crop 
increase is from a combination of manure and raw phosphate rock, or 
acid phosphate, than from "complete fertilizers." 



372 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Table XXVI. Average Annual Yields of Corn, Wheat, Oats and 
Clover Hay, and Average Gross and Net Crop Values per Acre 
from Continuous Cropping without Fertilizers, Rotation Cropping 
without Fertilizers, and Rotation Cropping with Fertilizers. For 
16 to 19 Years at the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station. 

(From Circular 131, Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station.) 



Crops, Methods of Cropping, Amounts 
of Fertilizing Materials 





Lbs. 


Gross 


Annual 


Bus. 


Stover 


Crop 


Fer- 


Grain 


Straw 


Value 


tilizer 


per 


or Hay 


per 


Cost 


Acre 


per 


Acre 


per 




Acre 




Acre 



Net 
Crop 
Value 

per 
Acre 



CORN 



Continuous — no fertilizer 

5-year rotation — no fertilizer 

3-year rotation — no fertilizer 

5-year rotation with 16 tons manure every 
rotation cycle 

5-year rotation with 8 tons manure every 
rotation cycle 

3-year rotation with 8 ton.9 manure every 
rotation cycle 

5-year rotation with 320 lbs. acid phos- 
phate every rotation cycle 

5-year rotation with 480 lbs. acid phos- 
phate; 260 lbs. muriate potash; 220 lbs. 
nitrate soda; and 25 lbs. dried blood 
every rotation cycle 

3-year rotation with 8 tons manure and 
320 lbs. raw phosphate every rotation 
cycle 

3-year rotation with 8 tons manure and 
320 lbs. acid phosphate every rotation 
cycle 



15.88 
29.74 
34.39 


1,245 
1,668 
2,169 


Dollars 

8.22 
14.40 
17.01 


Dollars 


49.00 


2,460 


23.29 


1.20 


43.71 


2,178 


20.75 


.60 


59.49 


3,358 


28.83 


1.00 


37.83 


l,8Vl 


17.94 


.52 


44.12 


2,260 


21.04 


3.52 


65.41 


3,680 


31.68 


1.47 


66.05 


3,581 


31.79 


1.80 



Dollars 

8.22 

14.40 

17.01 

22.09 

20.15 

27.73 

17.42 



17.52 
30.21 
29.99 



WHEAT 



Continuous — no fertilizer 

5-year rotation — no fertilizer 

3-year rotation — no fertilizer 

5-year rotation with 16 tons manure every 
rotation cycle 

5-year rotation with 8 tons manure every 
rotation cycle 

3-year rotation with 8 tons manure every 
rotation cycle 

5-year rotation with 320 lbs. acid phos- 
phate every rotation 

5-year rotation with 480 lbs. acid phos- 
phate; 260 lbs. muriate potash; 220 lbs. 
nitrate soda; 25 lbs. dried blood every 
rotation cycle 

3-year rotation with 8 tons manure and 
320 lbs. raw phosphate every rotation 
cycle 

3-year rotation with 8 tons manure and 
320 lbs. acid phosphate every rotation 
cycle 



7.52 
10.21 
10.63 


938 
1,045 
1,310 


6.95 
9.21 
9.81 




21.65 


2,345 


19.66 


1.20 


17.72 


1,878 


16.05 


.60 


20.69 


2,368 


18.92 


1.00 


18.12 


732 


15.23 


,52 


21.64 


2,253 


19,56 


3.52 


25.39 


2,791 


23.10 


1.47 


25.47 


2,837 


23.21 


1.80 



6.95 
9.21 
9.81 

18.46 

15.45 

17.92 

14.70 

16.04 
21.63 
21.41 



SOIL FERTILITY EXPERIMENTS— OHIO 

OATS 



Continuous— no fertilizer 

5-year rotation — no fertilizer 

5-year rotation with 16 tons manure every 
rotation cycle 

5-year rotation with 8 tons manure every 
rotation cylce 

5-year rotation with 320 lbs. acid phos- 
phate every rotation cycle 

5-year rotation with 480 lbs. acid phos- 
phate; 260 lbs. muriate potash; 220 lbs. 
nitrate soda; 25 lbs. dried blood every 
rotation cycle 



22.92 
31.00 


921 
1,300 


7.80 
10.60 




42.88 


2,022 


14.88 


1.20 


37.81 


1,673 


13.02 


.60 


40.73 


1.683 


13.90 


.52 


48.84 


2,338 


16.99 


3.52 



373 



7.80 
10.60 

13.68 

12.42 
13.38 

13.47 



CLOVER 
(In the 5-year rotation the hay yields are averaged for 4th and 5th years.) 



5-year rotation — no fertilizer 

3-year rotation — no fertilizer 

5-year rotation with 16 tons manure every 
rotation cycle 

5-year rotation with 8 tons manure every 
rotation cycle 

3-year rotation with 8 tons manure every 
rotation cycle 

5-year rotation with 320 lbs. acid phos- 
phate every rotation cycle 

5-year rotation with 480 lbs. acid phos- 
phate; 260 lbs. muriate potash; 220 lbs. 
nitrate soda; 25 lbs. dried blood every 
rotation cycle 

3-year rotation with 8 tons manure and 
320 lbs. raw phosphate every rotation 
cycle 

3-year rotation with 8 tons manure and 
320 lbs. acid phosphate every rotation 
cycle 



267 
697 

980 

242 

149 

816 

,180 
,021 

,077 



9.07 
10.79 

15.92 

12.97 

16.60 

11.26 

12,72 
20.08 
20.31 



1.20 
.60 

1.00 
.52 

3 52 
147 

1 80 



9.07 
10.79 

14.72 

12.37 

15.60 

10.74 

9.20 
18.61 
18.51 



Note: In this table the most important features of the rotation 
and fertiUzer experiments at the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station 
have been summarized in such a manner as to make comparisons easy 
between continuous cropping, rotation cropping without fertilizers, and 
rotation cropping with fertilizers. 

The yields here shown are the actual average yields. They are 
not absolutely comparable as here presented, because some averages 
are for 12 years, others for 15, 16 and 19 years; and also because the 
experiments in continuous cropping, 3-year rotation and 5-year rota- 
tion cropping, were conducted on different fields on the Ohio Experi- 
ment Farm, and variations in soil conditions migho, therefore, affect 
the yields. These yields, however, were all secured on the same farm 
during an approximately similar period of time, and, if the comparisons 
here made are not absolutely scientific, they are at least very useful 
in indicating general conditions and tendencies arising from con- 



374 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND DROP ROTATION 



tinuous cropping, rotation cropping without fertilizers, and rotation 
cropping with fertiUzers. 

In order to compare the results of these various systems of cropping 
in common terms, the crop products have been converted into cash 
values with the following prices that have been used by the Ohio 
Agricultural Experiment Station in its other crop computations: 
corn, 40 cents per bu.; wheat, 80 cents per bu.; oats, 30 cents per bu.; 
corn stover, $3.00 per ton; straw, $2.00 per ton; and clover and timothy 
hay, $8.00 per ton. 

The annual fertilizer cost per acre has been computed by dividing 
the total fertilizer cost for each rotation by the number of years in the 
rotation, thus giving the average, annual cost that should be charged 
to any particular crop in the rotation. The cost of the farm manure 
has been estimated by the author at $3.00 for each eight tons, this 
cost representing the approximate amount of man and horse labor 
necessary to distribute this amount of manure, it being assumed that 
manure is a by-product of crop growing and live stock feeding that 
costs nothing for fertilizer except the cost of hauling and distributing. 
The commercial fertilizers used in these experiments are valued as 
follows: raw phosphate rock, $8.75 per ton; acid phosphate, $15.00 
per ton; muriate of potash, $50.00 per ton; and nitrate of soda, $60.00 
per ton. 

The net crop value per acre, as shown in this table, is merely the 
net value after subtracting fertilizer cost from the gross crop value. 
This gives an excellent basis for comparisons of the various cropping 
systems and fertilizers. 

The reader may note from this table (1) the increase of crop value 
due to rotation alone, (2) the increase of crop value in similar rota- 
tions due to the use of farm manures, and (3) the maximum increase 
in crop value produced by a combination of rotation, farm manures, 
and a small amount of phosphorus. 

While there are certain soil areas in the United States to which 
the results of these experiments are not altogether appUcable at the 
present time, the methods of soil management shown by these ex- 
periments to be the most profitable are applicable to the greater part 
of the improved farm lands of the United States. As American agri- 
culture ages the greater will become the area of farm land to which 
the truths of these experiments will be applicable. 



CHAPTER V 

THIRTY YEARS OF CROP ROTATION — 
ILLINOIS 

"Near the end of thirty years an average yield of 96 
bushels of corn per acre on one field, and an average yield of 
27 bushels of corn per acre on another field, must be accepted 
as the results of different systems of farming on land that 
was .similar and uniform in the beginning. * * * 

* * * The 96 bushels is the average yield per acre for 
the years 1905, 1906 and 1907 in one system of farming; and 
the 27 bushels is the average yield for the same years in 
another system of farming on land originally the same. 
Between these extremes other results have been obtained 
from several other systems of farming. * * * 

* * * In the following table are given three year 
averages of the yields of corn secured in recent years, includ- 
ing 1907, which is the twenty-ninth year of the oldest experi- 
ments and the thirteenth year of a newer and more extensive 
series of experiments with crop rotations and soil treatment 
with special reference to two markedly different systems of 
farming, of which one is termed "grain farming" and the 
other "live stock farming." 



Table XXVII. Corn Yields from the University of Illinois Ex- 
periment Field at Urbana. Typical Corn Belt Prairie Soil. 
Three Year Averages. Bushels per Acre. 

(Table I, Bulletin 125, Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station.) 



Crop 

Years 


Crop System 


13 Year 
Exp'ta. 


29 Year 

Exp'ts. 


1905-6-7 
1903-5-7 
1901-4-7 


Corn every year 

Corn and oats rotation 

Corn, oats, and clover rotation 


35 bu. 
62 bu. 
66 bu. 


27 bu. 
46 bu. 
58 bu. 



376 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Average Yield Three Corn Crops, 1905, 1906, 1907, in Com, Oats, 
and Clover Rotation. 13 Year Experiments. 



Crop 
Years 


Special Soil_Treatment 


(*) Grain 
Farming 

with 
Legumea 


(t) Live- 
stock 

Farming 
with 

Manure 


1905-6-7 
1905-6-7 
1905-6-7 

1905-6-7 


None 


69 bu. 
72 bu. 

90 bu. 
94 bu. 


81 bu. 
85 bu. 

93 bu. 
96 bu. 


Lime; 1,000 lbs. per acre applied in 1902 

Lime; 1,000 lbs. per acre applied in 1902; 

phosphorus, 200 lbs. steamed bone 

meal applied annually 


Lime; 1,()00 lbs. per acre apphed in 1902; 
phosphorus, 200 lbs. steamed bone 
meal annually; potash, 100 lbs. sul- 
phate of potash annually 





(*) Legume catch cropa and crop residuea plowed under, 
(t) Manure applied in proportion to previous crop yields. 
The cost of limestone delivered is about $2.00 per ton; steamed bone meal 
S25.00 per ton; and sulphate of potash $50.00 per ton. 



1 


v.^ ^ 


1 


.? 


\Mm^ 


"^klmL^^W *-s 


H 


ppp^pf 


m 


9 


m^^^'i^ 


^^m 


i^'" 


^..-'?= 




iL..^f^ 


i&^^w- 


' * " '^^(fe'^^ ^jSm 



From Bui. 123, Illinois Agr. Expt. Station. 
A plot of corn on the common prairie loam of Marion county, Illinois. 
Corn grown in a rotation of wheat, clover, corn and cowpeas. All crop pro- 
ducts removed from the land. No fertilizers. Average yield four years: 38:3 
bushels per acre. 



CROP ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— ILLINOIS 



377 



As an average of the last three years where corn has 
been grown every year, the yield has been twenty-seven 
bushels per acre in the 29-year experiments, and thirty-five 
bushels per acre in the 13-year experiments. The lesson of 
these experiments is that twelve years of cropping, when 
corn followed corn, reduces the yield from more than seven- 
ty bushels per acre to thirty-five bushels per acre, after 
which the decrease is much less rapid, amounting to only 
eight bushels per acre reduction during the next sixteen 
years. Undoubtedly the rapid reduction during the first 
twelve years of continuous corn growing is due in large 
part to the destruction of the more active decaying organic 
matter, resulting ultimately in insufficient liberation of plant 




From Bui. 123, Illinois Agr. Expt. Station. 

A plot of corn on the common prairie loam of Marion county, Illinois. 
Corn grown in a rotation of wheat, clover, corn and cowpeas. Cowpeas 
plowed under for green manure. Soil amended with lime, phosphorus and 
potassium fertilizers. Average yield four years: 61.3 bushels per acre. 



378 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

food within the feeding range of the corn roots. In addition 
to this, the development of corn insects in soil on which 
their favorite crop is grown every year is sometimes an im- 
portant fact in reducing the yield. 

Where corn is followed by oats in a two-year rotation, 
the average yield of the last three crops of corn is forty-six 
bushels per acre in the 29-year experiments, whereas, in the 
13-year experiments, the average yield for the same three 
years is sixty-two bushels of corn per acre. In this case the 
destruction of humus is less rapid, and the development of 
corn insects is discouraged by changing to oats every other 
year, so that the decrease in yield is less marked during the 
early years, although the reduction continues persistently 
with passing years. During the first eleven years the yield 
decreased from more than seventy bushels to sixty-two 
bushels per acre, and during the next sixteen years a further 
reduction of sixteen bushels has occurred. 

With the three-year rotation, corn is grown for one 
year, followed by oats with clover seeding the second year, 
and clover alone the third year. During the first ten years 
under this system the yield of corn has decreased from more 
than seventy bushels to sixty-six bushels per acre, and during 
the next sixteen years the yield has further decreased to 
fifty-eight bushels per acre. * * * In this system the most 
marked reduction in crop yields has not yet appeared, al- 
though it must be expected in the future, because the clover 
crop is already beginning to fail on the oldest field even in 
seasons when clover succeeds well on newer land under the 
same crop rotation. When clover fails, we substitute cow- 
peas for that year on that field, which thus provides a legume 
crop, and preserves the three-year rotation. 

Grain Farming. * * * This system, when fully under 
way, provides that the corn shall be husked and the stalks 
disked down in preparation for the seeding of oats and clover 
the second year. In harvesting the oats as much straw as 
possible is left in the stubble, which may be mowed later in 
the summer to prevent the seeding of the clover or weeds. 
In the spring of the third year the clover is mowed once or 
twice before the usual haying time and left on the ground. 



CROP ROTATION EXPERIMENTS— ILLINOIS 379 

The seed crop, if successful, is harvested with a hay buncher 
attached to the mower, or in any other way to avoid raking, 
and, after threshing, the clover straw is returned to the land, 
all of this accumulated organic matter to be plowed under 
for the following corn crop which begins the next rotation. 
In addition to this, catch crops of annual legumes, such as 
cowpeas, may be seeded in the corn at the time of the last 
cultivation and disked in the next spring with the corn stalks. 
If biennial or perennial legumes are used as catch crops, the 
corn — corn ground may be spring plowed for oats. 

The corn yields reported for this system in Table I. (p. 376) 
were secured when the system was not fully under way, the 
legume catch crops being the only organic matter returned 
to the soil, aside from the residues necessarily left from the 
oats — clover rotation. 

* * * With no special soil treatment aside from the use 
of legume catch crops, the yield of corn for 1905, 1906 and 
1907 in this system averaged sixty -nine bushels per acre; 
with addition of lime, seventy-two bushels per acre; with 
lime and phosphorus, ninety bushels per acre; and with lime, 
phosphorus and potash, ninety-four bushels per acre. 

Live Stock Farming. * * * The plan of this system is 
to remove all crops from the land as usually harvested, 
including the corn and stover, oats and straw, and both first 
and second crops of clover. The amounts of manure ap- 
plied to the different plots are determined by the crop yields 
secured during the previous rotation. While the system of 
cropping* followed during the past thirteen years on these 
plots, and on those previously described under "grain farm- 
ing," has been approximately equivalent to a three year 
rotation of corn, oats and clover, the applications of manure 
have been made only for the years 1905, 1906 and 1907. 
If the average yields are decreasing on plots that receive 
only the amounts of manure that can be produced in prac- 
tice from the crops grown, then the applications of manure 
must also be reduced on such land; whereas, if the crop yields 
are increasing where both manure and phosphorus are ap- 
plied, then the applications of manure for such plots may be 
increased in direct proportion. 



380 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Where manure alone has been used in this rotation the 
corn has averaged eighty-one bushels per acre for the last 
three years; with lime added, the average is eighty-five 
bushels per acre; with lime and phosphorus, the manured 
land has averaged ninety-three bushels of corn; and with 
lime, phosphorus and potash, the manured land has averaged 
ninety-six bushels per acre. 

While potassium has usually made some increase in 
crop yields on these fields, it has not nearly paid its cost. 
The most profitable yields are the ninety bushel average 
in the grain farming, or the ninety-three bushel average in 
the live stock system. * * * 



CHAPTER VI 

THE RESULTS OF SCIENTIFIC SOIL TREATMENT 
ON AN ILLINOIS FARM. 

(Excerpts from an Address by Frank I. Mann before the Illinois State 
Farmers' Institute, February 21st, 1911.) 

It has been a great pleasure to me to be able to apply- 
some of these scientific principles of permanent agriculture 
to the practical operations of farming for several years. 
The farm involved consists of about 500 acres of brown silt 
loam of the early Wisconsin glaciation, and is the so-called 
level black prairie land of the corn belt. It has been reason- 
ably well drained, but the drainage outlet systems have not 
always been adequate for good drainage. The sub-divisions 
are mostly eighty acre fields. A four year rotation of corn, 
corn, oats, and clover has been conducted on most of the 
fields for about thirty years. Some small fields have rotated 
blue grass pasture with grain crops. 

Under the permanent scheme phosphorus is the only 
element of plant food that, as yet, must be purchased to be 
added. To supply phosphorus, it was bought in raw rock 
phosphate, which was applied at the rate of 1,000 pounds 
per acre, once in four years, the application being made to 
the clover field in the fall before it was plowed for corn the 
following year. At this rate, the cost was approximately 
four dollars for each treatment, or an annual cost of one 
dollar per acre. Check strips three rods wide were left in 
each field without treatment with phosphate, but in every 
other respect they have been managed identically the same. 
These check strips were left in order to get a measure on 
the value of the treatment. 

The following figures are the average yields per acre 
for five years, from comparative data taken from large fields. 
It should be remembered that the rotation including clover 
has been run so long that the clover alone (on the check 

25 



382 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



strips) is losing to some extent its efficiency for increasing 
yields. 

The data given as yields on a two year rotation of corn 
and oats are taken from nearby fields, and are only approx- 
imate, though they compare favorably with general averages. 



Table XXVIII, Crop Yields on an Illinois Farm. 5-Year Averages. 
Comparison between 2-Year Rotation of Corn and Oats ; 4- Year 
Rotation of Corn, Corn, Oats, and Clover; and Same 4- Year 
Rotation with Addition of 1,000 Pounds Rock Phosphate Once 
in Four Years. 

(Page 7, Circular 149, Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station.) 



Two-year Rotation 
Corn and Oats 


Four-year Rotation 
Corn, Corn, Oats, Clover 


Same Four-year Rotation 

1,000 lbs. Rock Phosphate 

once in 4 years 


Corn 34 bu. 
Oats 32 bu. 
Clover 


54 bu. 
47 bu. 
IH tons 


70 bu. 
70 bu. 
2}>i tons 



One important fact not shown in these figures is that 
the effect of this treatment is cumulative, as the difference 
in yields has a strong tendency to increase year after year. 

Another important fact not shown fully is the benefit 
of the treatment in getting a stand of clover on certain 
parts of the fields. Some portions of the check strips show 
but little, if any, clover the second year after seeding, while 
on the comparable ground across the treated line there is a 
good stand. * * * 

* * * Wishing to know if a maximum application of 
phosphate would be profitable, that is, an application large 
enough to bring the total phosphorus content up to the 
standard of 2,000 pounds per acre, average portions of the 
main fields were selected, to which an application of four 
tons of phosphate per acre was made. Also, some smaller 
fields have been given this full treatment, except for the 
check strip. The differences in yields for the past year 
(1910) indicate a good per cent of profit on the investment 
for this heavy treatment, as shown by the following figures : 



SOIL TREATMENT ON ILLINOIS FARM 



383 



Table XXIX. Crop Yields on an Illinois Farm, 1910. Compar- 
isons between 2- Year Rotation of Corn and Oats ; 4- Year Rota- 
tion of Com, Corn, Oats, and Clover; same 4-Year Rotation with 
1,000 Pounds Rock Phosphate per Acre Every 4 Years; and 
same 4- Year Rotation with 8,000 Pounds Rock Phosphate per 
Acre Every 4 Years. 



(Page 10, Circular 119, Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station.) 


Two-year Rota- 
tion Corn and 
Oats 


Four-year Rotation 
Corn, Corn, Oats, 
Clover. 24 Years 


Same Four-year 
Rotation with 1,000 
lbs. Rock Phosphate 

once in 4 years 


Same Four-year 
Rotation with 8,000 
lbs. Rock Phosphate 

once in 4 years 


Corn 25 bu. 
Oats 31 bu. 


67 bu. 
55 bu. 


84 bu. 
78 bu. 


92 bu. 

89 bu. 



Another advantage of the treatment is its effect on the 
maturity and quahty of the crops. In view of the widespread 
and annually increasing complaint from the commercial 
interests of the poor quality of grain, this problem of matur- 
ity is an important one. There is c difference between mature 
grain and grain that merely stops growth at the proper sea- 
son and then dries out. Maturity is a completion of the 
process of growth, and not merely a cessation of growth, and 
full development can not take place unless there is sufficient 
plant food. Grain will be light and chaffy whenever the 
crop is insufficiently supplied with the plant food necessary 
to full seed development. Some comparisons have been 
made between treated and untreated parts of fields as to 
maturity of the crops. In the case of corn, maturity has 
varied from 35% to 84% respectively, for the untreated and 
treated. No doubt some of this difficulty can be remedied 
by growing earlier maturing varieties, but with these the fact 
of immaturity still remains to some extent, for even the 
early varieties of pop corn with their small ears are likely 
to contain many immature ears. Plants will not properly 
mature when insufficiently fed any more than will animals, 
when not properly nourished. * * * 



PART V 
REVIEW OF SOIL PRODUCTIVITY 



CHAPTER I 
LESSONS FROM OTHER NATIONS 

It is well known that the yields of such staple field crops 
as wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes average higher in 
England, Germany, France, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, 
Norway, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, than in the United 
States of America. Furthermore, these yields are secured 
on soil areas that were under cultivation for several centuries 
prior to the time when agriculture was first practiced in 
North America. The soil areas of the United States have ail 
the advantages of newness and natural fertility, and yet 
yields are commonly less than on the old soil areas of Europe. 
What explanation can be given for this condition of American 
agriculture? 

If a comparison be made between methods of agriculture 
in Europe and in the United States, it will be found that in 
both regions the use of good seed and improved varieties 
has become almost universally recognized as an essential 
factor of crop production, and that so far as this factor 
of crop production is concerned, conditions are about the 
same in both regions. A comparison of tillage implements 
will show that ordinarily the American farmer is provided 
with more efficient plows and tillage implements than the 
European farmer. Oftentimes, under the extensive systems 
of farming that prevail in parts of the United States, the 



886 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

work of soil tillage is inferior to that on European soils where 
the necessity for deep and thorough tillage is well recog- 
nized, but, generally speaking, the tillage of American soil 
is as well done as the tillage of European soil. There is not 
sufficient difference here to account for the differences in 
crop yields. But, when we come to make comparisons of 
farming systems, crop rotations, the conserving and hand- 
ling of farm manures, and the judicious use of commercial 
fertilizers, we find that the European farmer is in advance 
of the average American farmer. Herein are the reasons for 
the higher average crop yields of Europe. 

In the first place, there is a larger proportionate amount 
of intensive farming in Europe than in the United States. 
Farms and fields are smaller and the soil is more carefully 
tended than the soil areas of many of our extensive Amer- 
ican farms. Along with the more intensive system of farm- 
ing there is a more universal use of crop rotation, including 
legume crops and forage crops fed to live stock. In the 
matter of conserving and handling farm manures the aver- 
age European farmer is ahead of the American farmer. 
Absorbents are used to retain all urine waste, and great 
care is used in the composting or direct hauling of manure 
to prevent losses from fermentation and leaching. 

In the matter of plant food deficiencies in soil, arising 
from natural distribution of the elements of plant food or 
from a long continued farming system that impoverished 
the land, the European farmer has been making a judicious 
use of commercial fertilizers for many decades to amend 
the plant food deficiencies of his soil. The merchant vessels 
of Great Britain, Germany, France and Norway, have been 
carrying a constant stream of soil fertilizers to European 
soils for the past sixty years. Great deposits of guano (the 
dung of sea fowl deposited in sheltered nooks along certain 



LESSONS FROM OTHER NATIONS 387 

coasts), rich in phosphorus, were transported from South 
America to Europe and used to build up European soils, 
and, when the guano deposits were mainly exhausted, 
Europe began to import phosphate rock from the United 
States.* European farmers, for the past fifty or sixty years, 
have invested huge sums of money in commercial fertilizers 
to amend the plant food deficiencies of soils that had been 
unscientifically tilled by previous generations. 

In comparing the agriculture of the United States of 
America with that of Europe, it should also be remembered 
that Europe, as a whole, has been an importer of foodstuffs 
for the past thirty to forty years while the United States of 
America has been an exporter of the products of the soil. 
Europe has a comparatively dense population, mainly 
engaged in manufacturing, and for many years past has 
been a heavy importer of food products from all over the 
world. Wheat is imported from Russia, the United States, 
Canada, North Africa, and Argentine, and live stock prod- 
ucts from Australia, Canada, Argentine, and the United 
States. Furthermore, the European dairyman and live 
stock feeder utilize large amounts of mill feed from the 
United States and Canada and, large amounts of soy bean 
cake from Manchuria that is rich in nitrogen and phos- 
phorus. In consideration of all these economic conditions 

(*) During the five-year period 1908-1912 the total marketed 
production of phosphate rock from the mines of the United States 
was 15,014,721 short tons, of which 5,650,607 tons, or 37.6% was 
exported to foreign countries. An analysis of the statistics on phos- 
phate rock exports 1908-1912 shows that 35.8% of our total marketed 
production for this period was exported to European countries. Ger- 
many was the heaviest buyer during this period, taking 10.6% of our 
total product; France bought 4.5% of our total product; Great Britain, 
4.3%; Italy and the Netherlands, each about 4%; and the balance of 
the exports was scattered among various countries of Europe, North 
America, Asia and Souih America. In 1912 Japan purchased 3.2% 
of the 1912 marketed product, or approximately the same amount as 
was purchased by Italy or the NetWiands. 



388 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

which surround the agriculture of Europe, it is easy to see 
why the European farmer maintains the fertihty of his 
soil better than the average American farmer who has been 
a citizen of a nation that exports the raw products of the 
soil, European agriculture, on the whole, is very similar 
to the agriculture pursued on occasional American farms 
that keep more live stock than the farm can support and 
purchase additional grains and mill feeds produced by other 
farmers to meet the deficiency. This sj^stem produces large 
amounts of manure containing some plant food from another 
person's farm, and there is no difficulty about maintaining 
soil productivity under such conditions. 

Many of the European cities recover considerable fertil- 
izer material from city garbage and sewage that is made 
use of by near-by truck farmers, while in the United States 
no such fertilizer values are recovered and the drainage 
streams carry off countless tons of valuable plant food. 

Turning from Europe to Asia, we may see object lessons 
in soil fertility problems on soils that have been cultivated 
since the dawn of historJ^ The author has seen soil areas in 
Central China that have been cultivated continuously since 
a period that was at least 1,000 B, C, and that are still pro- 
ducing profitable crops, and also soils in Korea and Japan 
that are known to have been under cultivation for a thousand 
years or more. Very few of these old soils in Asia have ever 
received any applications of commercial fertilizers, nor has 
crop rotation, the use of legume green manure crops, or the 
feeding of farm crops to live stock been employed to main- 
tain the productivity of the soil. The tillage methods also 
are not usually as good as those practiced on the best Amer- 
ican farms using the best types of modern tillage implements. 
The whole secret of the age of Chinese, Japanese and Korean 
agriculture lies in the wonderfully painstaking precautions 



LESSONS FROM OTHER NATIONS 389 

these people take to recover all forms of human and animal 
excrement and to return such matter to the soil with a min- 
imum of loss from fermentation and leaching. The old 
men and the boys of China frequent the highways to gather 
up all droppings from beasts of burden. Human excrement 
in both country and city is very carefully conserved and is an 
article of commerce in the cities where population is dense. 
The greater part of all animal and human excrement in 
China and Japan is recovered and returned to the soil. 
After it is gathered, it is stored in great vessels or in pits 
lined with impervious clay, and applied to the soil just 
prior to seeding or during the early stages of crop growth. 
Thus the percentage of loss from fermentation and leaching 
is very small. 

There are many farming communities in North China, 
also, where it is a common practice to dig great pits into the 
soil and to take out large amounts of subsoil annually for 
use as fertilizer. The soil taken from these pits, is mixed in 
compost heaps with dung, urine, and garbage, and shoveled 
over, mixed up, and aerated several times before it is hauled 
on the land. 

By these careful, painstaking methods in the conserving 
of animal and human excrements, many soil areas in China 
and Japan have been kept productive for very long periods 
of time. Small plots of land, carefully tilled, with an almost 
perfect check on subtractions of plant food from the original 
supphes of the soil, are the reasons for the maintenance of 
productivity on many soil areas of the Orient. 

But all the soil areas of the Orient are by no means being 
cultivated under a permanent scheme of agriculture. There 
is abandoned land in. China as well as large areas of agricul- 
tural land where yields are now very low and where the fertil- 
ity of the soil is rapidily diminishing. This is particularly 



390 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

true of the naturally fertile agricultural lands in Manchuria 
and North China. This region exports large quantities of 
agricultural produce to South China, Japan, and Europe. 
The population is not so dense as in South China, the farms 
and fields are larger, and, as a considerable portion of the 
crops is exported, there is a constant drain on the soil's 
store of plant food that is not offset by the recovery of an 
equal amount of plant food in animal and human excre- 
ment. In addition to this, the tillage is very shallow, there 
is no use of green manure crops, pasture crops or meadow 
crops, and all crops are inter-tilled. Humus is rapidly ex- 
hausted from these soils by these practices as well as the 
common practice of digging out crop stubble for fuel. The 
farmers of this region conserve such animal and human 
excrement as is available; but it is insufficient to counter- 
balance the plant food taken out by crops and exported 
from the country. 

The author has seen many agricultural districts in Man- 
churia that have been under cultivation only seventy-five 
to one hundred years, where crop yields were at a very low 
level, and where, within the memory of men now living, 
the yields were double or treble the present-day yields. 
Many of these impoverished lands are merely in poor physi- 
cal condition and not absolutely impoverished as regards 
total amounts of plant food. It is plain, nevertheless, that, 
if these soils were put into good physical condition again, 
humus added to the soil to release new supplies of available 
plant food, and a new lease of productivity so given, the 
ultimate unproductivity of the land would be deferred only 
a generation or so longer, providing the present methods of 
agriculture were to continue. 

The soil conditions that prevail in the exporting regions 
of North China and Manchuria are quite similar to the 



LESSONS FROM OTHER NATIONS 391 

conditions that now exist in the North Central states of 
the United States, and are an object lesson worthy of con- 
sideration by the American farmer of the Middle West. In 
those regions of China where the subtractions of plant food 
from the soil by crops are being offset by the additions of 
plant food in animal and human excrement, agriculture is 
practically permanent, and yields are as high now as in 
generations past. In regions like Manchuria, where crops 
are exported and the subtractions of plant food from the 
soil by crops permitted to exceed the additions made through 
fertilizing materials, soil productivity has diminished in 
seventy-five to one hundred years to a very low level, and 
caused the abandonment of some land that has been so 
cropped for two hundred to three hundred years. 

Similarly, in many parts of the United States, the system.s 
of farming that have been in use for the past generation have 
tended to greatly reduce the natural supplies of plant food 
in the soil, and a further continuance of such methods of 
agriculture will ultimately cause very low yields and aban- 
doned soil areas, as similar agricultural practices have done 
on some of the older soil areas of the Orient. The lesson 
we can best note from the older agriculture of the Orient 
is the value of keeping a balance between the outgo and 
the income of plant food in the soil. We may not yet be 
able or desirous to maintain this balance by the same meth- 
ods that are employed by the Oriental farmers ; but we have 
the facilities for so doing, if we will but use them. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) What is the average yield per acre of wheat, oats, and barley in 

England, Germany, France, and the United States of America? 

(2) What was the total production of wheat in the United States 

in the years 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900 and 1910? What per cent 
of the crop was exported to foreign countries at these dates? 



CHAPTER II 

DEPLETION AND MAINTENANCE OF AMERICAN 

SOILS 

American agriculture is very new as compared with the 
agriculture of Europe and Asia. We have a very few soil 
areas along the Atlantic Seaboard that have been tilled 
from two hundred to three hundred years. Other areas of 
some size in the South Central states and the southern part 
of the North Central states have been under cultiva- 
tion from seventy-five to one hundred years; but the largest 
part of the present agricultural soil areas of the United 
States has been put under cultivation only within the last 
fifty or seventy-five years. Compared with the agriculture of 
Asia and Europe, ours is so new as to be infantile. With the 
best part of a great continent at our disposal, we have been 
at work during our entire national existence in the task of 
subduing virgin land. The restless American spirit has been 
well adapted to this work, and, aided in the past fifty years 
by the modern methods and inventions for facilitating 
communication, the American people have accomplished 
marvelous results in the subduing of a wild continent and 
the creation of wealth from natural resources. One rail- 
way after another has been projected into the wild regions 
of North America and in its wake have come the settler, 
the breaking plow, the grain elevator, the export of food- 
stuffs to feed the world, the quick realization of fortunes 
from the virgin fertility of the soil, and, eventually, a decrease 
in available soil fertility and a problem in the maintenance 
of soil productivity for the succeeding generations to face. 



MAINTENANCE OF AMERICAN SOILS 393 

In the latter part of the seventeenth century, Bishop 
Berkeley, the English philosopher-poet, coined the famous 
epigram, "Westward the course of empire takes its 
way," and in the first part of the twentieth century. 
Dr. C. G. Hopkins, the American soil chemist, added to 
this epigram the words, "leaving impoverished lands 
behind." These few words added to Berkeley's famous 
epigram give a clever and accurate epitome of the his- 
tory of agriculture in the United States of America. It has 
always been easier and more profitable in the United States 
to develop new land of virgin fertility than to go to the 
trouble and expense of maintaining productivity on the 
older soils. We still have a vast amount of virgin land to 
subdue and put under cultivation. There are millions of 
acres of desert land awaiting the irrigating ditch to create 
real wealth from their potential wealth; millions of acres of 
cut-over timber lands, especially in the North Central and 
South Central states, awaiting the stump puller and the 
brush plow to convert inert stores of plant food into grain, 
milk and meat; and there are millions of acres of swamp land 
awaiting the drainage ditch that will carry off the excess 
water that now prevents these lands from producing valu- 
able crops. Pioneer agriculture is by no means at an end in 
the United States. Not yet have all the waste places 
been made productive and habitable. There are still vast 
stretches of wild land to occupy the attention of the restless 
pioneer, development spirit of the American people.* 

Nevertheless, the most accessible, most fertile, and most 

* In 1914 the United States Department of Agriculture estimated 
that of the 1,143,000,000 acres of arable land in the United States 
only 27% or 311,000,000 acres were actually in crop, leaving a balance 
of 832,000,000 acres of fair to good arable land still awaiting the break- 
ing plow. It is further estimated that there are 361,000,000 acres of 
land available for pasture and tree crops, and 399,000,000 acres that 
are irreclaimable and worthless for agriculture. 



394 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

easily subdued lands of the United States have already been 
put under cultivation. The increase in the acreage of 
farm land in the United States during the next generation 
will undoubtedly be much slower than in the past one. 
Wild lands will be subdued and the acreage of farm land will 
increase, but the increase will be comparatively slow as 
judged by the increase in acreage that took place from 1870 
to 1910. The increase in our acreage of virgin farm land 
can no longer be made sufficiently rapid to keep pace with 
our increase in population and the decreasing yields on some 
of our older soil areas. Our best and most easily tilled soil 
areas are already developed, and the time has come for 
the American people to take stock of their agricultural re- 
sources, to give more attention to the permanency of their 
agriculture, and more consideration to intensive farming 
and higher yields per acre as a means for swelling the total 
agricultural wealth of the nation. 

The prophets of depleted soil fertility have never been 
taken very seriously in the Middle Western and Western 
sections of the. United States. So long as virgin fertility 
was abundantly available for crops, the virgin soil areas were 
regarded so rich as to be of inexhaustible fertility. Extrava- 
gant ideas, language, and methods have prevailed, as a 
matter of course, with every new soil area of any size that 
has ever been opened in the United States. It was not to 
be expected that men would or could consider the future 
conditions of soil fertility when crops were abundant and 
soil fertility apparently inexhaustible. The prophecies of 
depleted soil fertility fell on ears that did not hear. Men 
either disbelieved or did not care. Disbelief was not surpris- 
ing when we consider the wonderful fertility of the virgin 
prairies of the United States and the comparisons that the East- 
ern bred farmer made with the soil areas of New England states 



MAINTENANCE OF AMERICAN SOILS 395 

The point of view is an important factor in controlling 
the actions of men. The pioneer farmer of the Middle 
West who came from the stony hillsides of New England 
is not to be blamed for having developed the point of view 
that credited Western soil with inexhaustible fertility. It is 
characteristic of all men also to live in the present. If the 
present is a time of plenty and of bountiful crops, why bother 
about the future? The Irish witticism, "Why consider pos- 
terity, what did posterity ever do for us?" is the rule of busi- 
ness and of politics that commonly prevails and that often 
creates serious problems of finance, politics, or agriculture 
for posterity. 

The history of agriculture in the great Red River Valley 
region of Minnesota and North Dakota is a very typical 
example of the American farmer's attitude toward the prob- 
lems of soil fertility. When this region was being opened 
and put under cultivation in the years 1870 to 1890, it was 
described in business circles with the most extravagant of 
adjectives. It was enthusiastically called the "bread basket 
of the world," a region having "the richest soil in the world," 
"a valley more fertile than the valley of the Nile," and "a 
region having a soil of such perfect composition as to be 
of inexhaustible fertility." Farmers, bankers, real estate 
men, and railway men thoroughly believed these statements 
about the Red River Valley. The pioneer farmers in the 
Red River Valley dumped the manure that accumulated on 
their farms into the Red River. On farms not close to the 
river the manure would pile up around the horse barns in 
such quantity as to often interfere with getting in and out 
of the barn. When such a condition arose, the barn would 
be "jacked up," put on rollers, and changed to a new location, 
and the manure piles burned up. The prophets of depleted 
soil fertility were as voices in the wilderness in those days. 



396 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 





MAINTENANCE OF AMERICAN SOILS 



397 



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398 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Everybody believed that the soil of the Red River Valley 
was of inexhaustible fertility. Moreover, experience had 
shown that, if manure was spread on the virgin land, the 
excess of nitrogen so provided caused rank growing grain 
crops with weak straw that easily lodged, and a crop that 
inclined to too much straw and too little grain. 

These ideas were the accepted theory for agricultural 
practice in the Red River Valley until about 1905. Prac- 
tically every farmer was a wheat farmer, and the majority 
of farmers tilled their land on the theory of inexhaustible 
soil fertihty, with no need for crop rotation, green manures, 
meadow and pasture crops, and animal manures. By 1905 
the continuous growth of grain crops had exhausted much of 
the soil's supply of available plant food, decreased the amount 
of humus, created unfavorable physical soil conditions, and 
caused an accumulation of noxious weeds. As a result, farm- 
ers began to notice decreased yields and lower grades in their 
grain crops. In a period of time that varied from fifteen to 
thirty years on different farms the theory of inexhaustible 
soil fertility had received a hard jolt, and the progressive 
farmers of the Red River Valley began to listen more and 
more to the prophets of depleted soil fertility and began to 
practice more diversified farming, crop rotation with the 
inclusion of legume crops and cultivated crops, and to use 
some live stock to check the sale of plant food from the soil. 
Wheat and other small grains are still largely grown in the 
Red River Valley, but not to the entire exclusion of other 
crops. 

The most profitable farms in the Red River Valley to-day 
are those that combine alfalfa or red clover and corn or pota- 
toes in a rotation with the small grains, and on which a 
portion of the crops is fed to live stock and the manure re- 
turned to the land. The soil is still very rich in total amounts 



MAINTENANCE OF AMERICAN SOILS 399 

of plant food. At the present time and for much time to 
come it needs a system of farming that will maintain the 
humus equilibrium and nitrogen, and provide conditions 
for a continuous liberation of plant food from the large 
reserve supplies in the soil. In some parts of the Valley- 
there are whisperings of a need for phosphate fertilizers, and 
it is possible that in another generation or two there will be 
a real, need for them to amend the phosphate deficiencies 
of some soils. Thus has time changed the point of view in 
regard to the productivity of the soils of the Red River 
Valley, and what is true of this soil area is characteristic 
of every soil area in the United States in varying degree and 
with slight differences depending on the original composi- 
tion of the soil. 

American agriculture has already exhausted and wasted 
large amounts of the nation's original assets of plant food 
in the soil. In many of the wheat growing regions the phos- 
phorus content of the soil has been reduced to a point where 
comparatively low yields are now the rule and where the 
average grade of the grain is low. In many rich farming 
regions such as Iowa, Illinois, Southern Minnesota, Missouri 
and Eastern Nebraska, farmers complain that clover does 
not yield as well as fifteen to twenty years ago, and increas- 
ing difficulty is being experienced to secure profitable corn 
crops. In these instances, also, a deficient supply of avail- 
able phosphorus in the soil is usually the cause of the farmer's 
difficulty in securing maximum yields of high grade products. 

Comparatively young as American agriculture is, there 
are undoubtedly many large soil areas already needing 
amendment, particularly as regards phosphorus. We have 
reached a stage in the progress and development of our 
agriculture where, as a nation, we must give greater consid- 
eration to the problems of maintaining soil productivity 



400 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

and less consideration to the problems of subduing virgin 
lands. As our best farm lands are already under plow, we 
can henceforth add more to our national food supply 
through increasing and maintaining the productivity of our 
developed soil areas than through the addition of more 
tillable land to our total farm land area. The subduing of 
virgin lands should receive due attention; but to maintain a 
high productivity on the farm lands already under cultiva- 
tion is much more important. 

The same methods cannot be applied to all soils to 
maintain a condition of high productivity. In many cases 
the soil is still abundantly fertile in total supplies of plant 
food; but the amounts of available plant food have been 
reduced to a point too low for profitable cropping. This 
is a soil condition that is commonly found in every part of the 
United States, even in some of the older regions that have 
been using commercial fertilizers for many years. This 
condition in the soil is brought about by continuous cropping 
to any class of crops, shallow plowing, non-use of any deep 
rooted crops, and the non-use of crop rotation, green manures 
and live stock manures to maintain nitrogen and humus in 
the soil. It is a soil condition affecting productivity, quickly 
•and easily corrected by means of thorough tillage, green 
manure crops and a well planned rotation of crops. 

When an analysis of the soil, however, reveals the fact 
that the total phosphorus or potassium supplies of the soil 
are below a minimum amount necessary to permit an annual 
liberation of available phosphorus or potassium in sufficient 
amounts for maximum crops (even when green manuring, 
crop rotation, and thorough tillage are practiced), there is 
but one practical and profitable method to follow to increase 
the productivity of the soil, and that is to amend the soil 
and correct its deficiencies with the commercial fertilizer 



MAINTENANCE OF AMERICAN SOILS 401 

best adapted to the particular soil and its needs. The 
amendment of a soil to correct some prominent plant food 
deficiency is best accomplished when the commercial fer- 
tilizer is used in conjunction with green manures, animal 
manures, and a good system of crop rotation. 

In planning systems of farming that will maintain the 
productivity of our older soil areas it should be remembered 
always that no amount of crop rotation and green manuring 
with all the crops of the farm fed out to live stock, and the 
manure returned to the land, can actually add any essential 
plant food to the soil except nitrogen. Such a system of 
agriculture, if inaugurated on a soil naturally rich in phos- 
phorus and potassium, and prior to excessive exhaustion of 
these forms of plant food, will keep the soil in a state of 
high productivity for long periods of time, because very 
little phosphorus or potassium is sold away from the land 
and because good conditions are always provided for the 
liberation of plant food in the soil. But, if a phosphorus 
or potassium deficiency is known to exist no amount of green 
manuring and crop rotation will benefit the soil in this re- 
spect. The correction can be made only by means of the 
commercial fertilizer. 

Agricultural experience all over the United States has 
clearly indicated that phosphorus is the element of plant 
food most likely to become deficient in our agricultural 
soils. For this reason we, as a nation, should more care- 
fully safeguard our natural stores of phosphate rock against 
that day when many of our soils will be in great need of 
phosphorus amendment. We have already exported large 
quantities of phosphate rock from the deposits in the South- 
ern states, but we have extensive phosphate deposits in the 
Public Domain of the Western states tha.t should be care- 
fully safeguarded for the future use of the American farmer. 



402 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

To further safeguard the productivity of American soils 
and the future food supphes of the nation we should take a 
leaf from the history of Oriental agriculture that has kept 
soil productive for thirty to forty centuries by means of a 
crude system of checking the waste of plant food that takes 
place when the excrement of human bodies is allowed to go 
to waste. Our American cities are the greatest of all wasters 
of the fertility of our soils. They receive countless tons of 
plant food from the soil, actually consuming but a small 
fraction thereof and returning but a small fraction to the 
soil, the larger part being run off to the ocean in sewage. 
Our standards of living and methods of sanitation do not 
as easily permit of the saving of this waste of plant food as 
in case of a city in Southern China, and yet should our public 
leaders, our financiers, and our civic engineers turn their 
attention to it, the problem could be solved without great 
difficulty. Large municipal septic tanks and garbage 
incinerators to conserve the plant food in waste products 
of great city populations would be practical, profitable and 
comparatively easy to install. The saving of city waste is 
now practiced to some extent in European cities and it is 
bound to come in the large cities of the United States. We 
cannot afford to go on forever mining plant food from the 
soil, transporting it to our centers of population, and then 
running it off to the oceans. 

The conservation of plant food in the soil is the greatest 
of all the problems in the conservation of natural resources. 
Productive agricultural soils are by far the greatest of all 
national assets; for agriculture is the basic industry among 
all the industries pursued by man. The American people 
have been blessed with greater national agricultural resources 
than any other nation, past or present, of the Earth. We 
have spent a great deal of our national energy and resource- 



MAINTENANCE OF AMERICAN SOILS 403 

fulness in overcoming the natural obstacles that stood in the 
way of our creating real wealth from this potential wealth 
that nature gave us within the boundaries of our country. 
We have been eminently successful in the rapid extension 
of the farm land area of the United States, and our agricul- 
tural conditions are now such that we should turn our 
energies to the problem of conserving the resources that 
have come down to us from our forefathers. Both city and 
country need to know more of crop rotation, commercial 
fertilizers, and the general problem of soil fertility. It is 
the greatest of all our national problems .and yet one that 
receives the least consideration. 

PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) Write a short history of the agriculture in your local county or 

agricultural region. Ascertain the dates of early settlement, 
the markets and marketing facilities of early days, the changes in 
land values that have taken place, changes that have occurred 
in the crops and systems of farming, the history of the yields 
of staple crops, and the changes that labor conditions and ma- 
chinery have effected. 

(2) Write an essay discussing modern agricultural conditions in your 

region, and state the types of agriculture and animal husbandry 
you regard best suited to your soil, climate and markets. 



404 



FIELD MAN AGE MEM' AND CROP ROTATION 




PART VI 
ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF FIELD MANAGEMENT 



CHAPTER I 
PLOWING PRACTICE 

All Soils Cannot Be Plowed Alike. Soils vary so in 
texture and character of subsoil that the best results are not 
secured by uniform methods of plowing. Local experience 
is often essential to knowledge regarding the best plowing 
practice for a certain soil. As a rule, clay and clay loam soils 
should be plowed deeper than sandy or sandy loam soils. 
The sandy soil is naturally porous and too much loosening 
of the soil is undesirable, as it may destroy good capillary 
connections in the seed bed. The clay soil, on the other 
band, is naturally retentive of moisture and deep plowing 
will usually benefit aeration and warmth in the soil. 

Relatively deep plowing, six to eight inches, has become 
the standard depth among the best farmers in all the great 
agricultural regions of the United States. Sod breaking is 
now commonly done to a depth of five inches, whereas 
three to four inches was formerly thought to be the correct 
depth, "When land is plowed six to eight inches deep, a 
much better seed bed is provided for young plants than if 
shallower plowing is practiced. Deep plowing prevents 
an excessive run-off of rain water, and also provides a com- 
paratively large soil area in which the roots of young plants 
may quickly penetrate to absorb moisture and plant food. 
The movement of air throughout the seed bed is also facili- 
tated when deep plowing is practiced, and air and warmth 



406 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



are as essential to seed germination and plant growth as 
moisture. In times of drouth a deep, mellow seed bed is 
not so likely to bake and dry out as a shallow seed bed 

especially if fall plowing 
has been practiced or 
spring plowed land 
packed with the sub- 
surface packer. The 
liberation of available 
plant food from inert 
forms in the soil is facili- 
tated when deep plowing 
is practiced, because 
more favorable tempera- 
ture, moisture and aer- 
ation are provided for 
the presence of the soil 
bacteria that assist 
chemical changes. 

Experience has shown 
that when deep plowing 
is contemplated on ordi- 
nary prairie or timber 
clay loam soils in humid 
regions, on which shal- 
low plowing has been 
previously practiced, it 
is advisable to increase 
the depth of the plowing 
gradually rather than to 
increase greatly in one 
year. It is not unusual for very poor crops to follow a 
radical change in the depth of plowing. This is almost 




i^/jLi/d by courtesy St. Paul Machinery 

Manufacturing Company. 
The small gas tractor plow, that can be 
turned in as small a space as a gang plow 
with four to six horses, is finding great favor 
on many grain and corn farms. When prop- 
erly handled the quality of the work is very 
high, and the cost per acre less than with the 
horse plow wherever the annual acreage to 
be plowed is sufficiently large to justify the 
investment. 



PLOWING PRACTICE 407 

always the case if the subsoil is different in character 
from the surface soil or if tests show the subsoil to be 
more acid than the surface soil. In semi-arid regions, or 
on any soil area where the subsoil contains more lime 
than the surface soil, and where the subsoil is of the 
same character as the surface soil, a quick change 
in the depth of plowing will not usually cause poor 
crops. If it is known that the subsoil is more acid than the 
surface soil, a quick change in the depth of plowing can be 
effected without much danger by plowing under green 
manure crops and also liming the soil to correct acidity. 
A good top-dressing of manure, together with lime, on 
freshly turned, deep plowed land, would also overcome the 
difficulties arising out of a quick change in the depth of 
plowing. 

When the surface soil is stripped from land along a road, 
it is always noticeable that vegetation does not thrive well 
on the stripped land for several years thereafter. Soil 
experts believe this condition of soil sterihty to be due to 
acidity and also to the fact that in humid climates subsoils 
need aerating and the chemical re-arrangement of matter to 
place plant food in forms available to crop roots. The 
many forms of bacteria that live in the soil and that play 
an important part in the preparation of plant food are not 
found in quantity in the subsoil. Apparently the necessary 
conditions for the work of soil bacteria and for the processes 
that convert inert plant food to available forms are not 
provided in most subsoils, and thus the soil is "dead" and 
comparatively unproductive until exposed for some time. 
Deep plowing may bring "dead soil" into the furrow-slice 
and thus cause a poor crop by retarding early growth. 
For this reason it is usually advisable in humid regions to 
increase the depth of plowing gradually on land formerly 



408 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

plowed shallow, or to use lime and vegetable matter to give 
life to new soil brought up from the subsoil. 

Subsoiling or Deep Tillage. Theoretically it would 
seem that, if six to eight inch plowing is better than four 
inch plowing, twelve or sixteen inch plowing would prove 
still more profitable. Investigational work and practical 
plowing experience, however, will not bear out this general 
theory. There is probably more evidence against deep 
tillage (over eight inches deep) than there is in favor of it. 
In certain regions deep tillage is recommended as profitable, 
while in other regions deep tillage experiments show neg- 
ative or neutral results, especially if the additional cost of 
tillage is taken into consideration. 

Practically all of the old types of subsoil plows invented 
in the United States have been discarded by the farmers 
who have tried them. These plows were run in the bottom 
of the furrows made by a common moldboard plow and loos- 
ened up the subsoil beneath the ordinary furrow-slice. 
Negative results commonly followed their use or, if positive 
results were secured, they were not large enough to jus- 
tify the additional expense. 

In recent years a heavy, durable, disk plow has been 
invented that will cut and invert the soil to a depth of four- 
teen to eighteen inches, if desired. One disk cuts to the 
depth of the common plow and the second disk cuts to an 
additional depth as desired. The soil raised by the disks 
from the two different soil areas is thoroughly mixed and well 
pulverized. The cost of deep tillage with this plow is reported 
to run from $4.00 to $6.00 per acre. Investigational work 
with deep tillage, as performed by this plow, is very con- 
flicting at the present time, and exact statements about its 
use cannot be made. Theoretically, it would appear that 
in the semi-arid regions of the United States deep tillage 



PLOWING PRACTICE 



409 




Photo by courtesy Duluth and Iron Range Railway. 

The heavy construction and strong, sharp disks of the deep tillage plow are 

of great advantage in subduing new land full of old tree roots and the stubs of 

brush. With plenty of power it will cut its way through newly cleared land 

much better than the moldboard brush plow, and will leave a smooth seed bed. 



would greatly benefit the soil by increasing its ability to 
quickly absorb rain water and prevent an excessive run-off 
or surface evaporation. But investigational work will not 
bear out the theory. In many cases where deep tillage has 
been practiced in the semi-arid regions positive results were 
secured in the wet years and negative results in the dry 
years. Also in the humid prairie regions of the Middle 
West the practice of deep tillage has more often shown 
negative results than positive, especially if the additional 
cost is considered. 

Deep tillage, as practiced with the disk plow, is reported 
to be profitable in some of the irrigated sections of Texas 
and also on some of the badly worn, heavy soil areas of 
the Southern states. Soils having very hard subsoils appear 
to be benefited by occasional deep tillage. In the Northern 



410 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

timbered areas of the United States the disk deep tillage 
plow has been found very useful in breaking wild land. It 
will cut and tear out brush roots and cover rubbish much 
better than the moldboard brush plow. In drained swamp 
areas having a peaty surface soil with clay or marl subsoil 
it has proved useful in mixing the subsoil with the peaty 
soil and thus making a good seed bed for farm crops. 

It is quite probable that many of the negative results 
from deep tillage have been caused by bringing up acid 
subsoil. In fact some authorities state that 90% to 95% of 
the subsoils in large areas of the humid regions of the Middle 
West are more acid than the surface soil, and that deep tillage 
is sure to be unprofitable under such conditions, unless the 
soil is thoroughly limed to correct acidity. On the other 
hand, if the subsoil contains more lime than the surface soil, 
deep tillage will usually prove profitable.* 

It appears, therefore, that subsoil acidity is the first point 
to consider in determining the advisabiUty of deep tillage. If 
there is an abundance of hme in the subsoil, deep tillage may 
prove profitable, otherwise negative results will be obtained. 
If the subsoil is known to be acid and it is thought desirable 
to plow very deeply to remedy a hard subsoil or to renovate 
a badly worn soil lacking in organic matter, it should be 
planned to plow under organic matter and to thoroughly 
lime the land after plowing. There is not sufficient evidence 
in favor of deep tillage in the semi-arid regions to warrant 
the practice. In fact, it is wise, on any soil area, to proceed 
cautiously with deep tillage. Experiment on a strip of land 
in one of the fields and, if the results are profitable, the prac- 
tice can then be extended to all fields. If deep tillage is 
found profitable, it can be practiced every three to six years 

* From investigational work of S. D. Conner, Associate Chemist in Soils and 
Crops, Agr. Expt. Station, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. 



PLOWING PRACTICE 



411 



in the rotation, the deep tillage plow being used to turn 
under a clover or alfalfa sod or a green manure crop. 

On farms practicing crop rotation, including such deep 
rooted legume crops as red clover, alfalfa, or sweet clover, 
and with thorough plowing to a depth of six to eight inches, 
it is doubtful whether there is any present or future need for 
deep tillage. The taproots of alfalfa, red clover, or sweet 




Photo by courtesy "The Farmer." 

The physical condition of certain types of heavy soil is improved by deep 

tillage. As a rule, plowing to a greater depth than eight inches is not profitable 

unless the subsoil contains more lime than the surface soil, or unless the land 

is limed after plowing in case of soils having acid subsoil. 



27 



412 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

clover, penetrate deeply into the subsoil and keep it mellow 
and open for the passage of air and moisture. When these 
crops are made to occupy the land every three to five years, the 
subsoil will be kept porous and accessible to the roots of other 
crops. Deep tillage should be considered chiefly as a cor- 
rective measure for soils having a heavy subsoil, or soils 
that are in a very bad physical condition from long continued 
cropping without legume crops. There is no evidence to 
show that deep tillage is sufficiently profitable to supersede 
ordinary six to eight inch plowing on the vast majority of 
American farms. 

Fall and Spring Plowing. In most regions of the North 
Temperate Zone fall plowing is preferable to spring plowing 
for a majority of the farm crops. Weeds can be destroyed 
to better advantage and the furrow-slice is given time to 
settle down against the subsoil and to establish good capil- 
lary connections for moisture. In semi-arid regions, wher- 
ever the soil is sufficiently moist, fall plowing tends to con- 
serve snow moisture during the winter and early spring, 
because plowed land will absorb moisture more readily than 
hard, unplowed land. Small grains thrive best on a fairly 
compact seed bed, and fall plowing provides the desired 
physical condition in the soil somewhat better than spring 
plowing. Fall plowing also relieves much of the labor rush 
that occurs in the planting seasons of spring, and makes it 
possible for the farm manager to give more careful atten- 
tion to the pulverizing of the seed bed and to the work of 
planting. In regions where the growing season is compara- 
tively short, and where the spring season is also short, 
spring plowing delays seeding, and may cause injury to the 
crops from a late harvest. Fall plowing is of greater advan- 
tage on sandy soils than on clayey soils, because moisture 
is harder to conserve for crops, and a fall plowed seed bed 



PLOWING PRACTICE 413 

has better capillary connections with the subsoil than one 
that is spring plowed. 

With many clayey soils, in regions where spring rains are 
plentiful, spring plowing is regarded preferable for certain 
crops, such as corn and barley. The seeds of these crops 
germinate best and early growth is most rapid, if compara- 
tively warm temperatures prevail in the soil. Spring plow- 
ing for heavy soils will usually provide somewhat warmer 
temperatures than fall plowing, and, when practiced in a 
region of abundant spring rainfall, the conservation of 
winter moisture is not important. Spring plowing for root 
crops, such as potatoes, sugar beets, and mangels, is consid- 
ered best on types of soil that are inclined to become compact 
during the winter months, if fall plowed. Deep spring plow- 
ing provides a mellower area for roots to develop in than fall 
plowing, if the soil is heavy and the spring season moist. 

If spring plowing is practiced on account of hard, dry 
soil conditions in the fall or of insufficient time in the fall, 
rapid evaporation of moisture from freshly plowed land can 
be easily checked by the harrow and the sub-surface packer. 
A soil condition in spring plowing similar to that in fall 
plowing at the spring season can be created with the packer 
and the harrow. If spring plowing is packed the same day 
it is plowed, all air spaces will be eliminated from the furrow- 
slice and the plowing will be crushed down against the sub- 
soil with good capillary connections for moisture. If the 
packing is followed immediately by surface harrowing what- 
ever moisture is in the plowing will be quite securely locked 
up. The work of packing can be done satisfactorily with 
a Campbell sub-surface packer or a common disk harrow 
with disks set straight ahead. Packing and harrowing 
spring plowed land in the semi-arid regions, the same day 
land is plowed, is almost essential to a good seed bed. It 



414 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



is not so essential to spring plowed land in humid regions, 
but is, nevertheless, desirable in preparing land for small 
grains. If clods are thrown up by fall plowing, frost and 
water are given time to crumble the clods and close up the 
air spaces; but with spring plowing the case is different, and 
a spring plowed seed bed is likely to be cloddy and full of 
air spaces, unless it is packed and harrowed the same day as 
plowed. 








Photo by courtesy Deere and Company. 

The two-way sulky plow, equipped with a right hand and a left hand plow, 
is very useful in doing good plowing on hillside lands. On level lands, also, 
its use eliminates the many back furrows and dead furrows caused by "plowing 
in lands" with the common plow. 



CHAPTER II 



SOIL INOCULATION FOR LEGUME CROPS 

Bacteria Essential to Legume Growth. Legume crops 
attain their greatest development and productivity when 
they are associated with the nitrogen gathering bacteria. 
On soils abundantly supplied with nitrogen, phosphorus 
and lime, they will grow quite well without the aid of the 
nitrogen gathering bacteria, but full development of the 
crop stand and of plant growth is not obtained, if the nitro- 
gen gathering bacteria are not present in the soil. 

Frequent Lack of Bacteria. In new agricultural regions, 
as well as old regions, where continuous corn, grain or cot- 
ton growing has been 
practiced, it is not un- 
common for soils to be 
lacking in a supply of the 
bacteria that commonly 
live with legume crops. If 
once these bacteria get into 
the soil, they will remain 
there several years (esti- 
mated maximum five to six 
years) without the pres- 
ence of the legume crop, 
maintaining their existence 
on the decaying roots and 

FromBul. 9i, Illinois Agr. Expt. Station. , , . - , . 

Red clover growing in soil provided with all StUDDle 01 the laSt grOWn 

elements of plant food except nitrogen. l„~.,,v^„ ^-^^^^ "Di,-*- it -^^ 

Each pot planted with the same number of ICgUmO CrOp. nUl, II UO 

seeds. The soil in the right hand pot was Ioo-htvio ni'r\na Vicitt-o oTror 

inoculated with nitrogen gathering bacteria iegUme LlOpb UaVG eVCr 

from an old clover field, while none were U„„— ^«^.r.r^ ^t^ +U^ Ir.^/^ 

added to the left hand pot. Dccn growu on the land, 



%vS|^ 




i 


I 




NO > 1 


LLi 


jv| 



416 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

or if a long interval elapses between the seedings, it often 
happens that there are no bacteria in the soil, and, as a 
result, the crop stand is weak, thin, and of poor growth. 
It pays, therefore, to give some consideration to the supply 
of soil bacteria when plans are being made for the seeding of 
legume crops. 

Species of Bacteria. There are many species of bacteria 
that inhabit the soil and that become parasitic on the legume 
crops. A few of the most important species are well known 
to science, but many forms are still but little understood. 
It is known, however, that certain forms of bacteria attach 
themselves to certain legume crops only. For example, 
the bacteria found with the roots of soy beans will not 
attach themselves to the roots of red clover. Also the 
bacteria of alfalfa roots will not grow on the roots of red 
clover, or those of red clover on alfalfa. Thus we know 
that, if the soil becomes inoculated with bacteria that will 
aid the growth of one kind of legume crops, they will have 
no effect on the growth of other species of legumes. The 
only well known exception to this rule is in the case of alfalfa 
and sweet clover; for it is known that the same bacteria that 
live with alfalfa roots are also found on the roots of sweet 
clover. Except in this one instance, our practice of soil 
inoculation must assume that each legume crop has its own 
species of bacteria. 

Natural Means of Distribution. The nitrogen gather- 
ing bacteria are spread gradually throughout farming com- 
munities by the seed, straw, and chaff of the legume crops, 
to which the small bacteria may adhere. Manure from live 
stock fed on legumes is also a means for the distribution of 
soil bacteria. The hoofs of horses, cattle or sheep, the 
wheels of a wagon, or the plow and harrow may be the 
means for distributing soil infected with bacteria from one 



SOIL INOCULATION FOR LEGUMES 417 

field or region to another. These ordinary and haphazard 
means of bacteria distribution are unsatisfactory, of course, 
when it is desired to quickly inoculate the soil with sufficient 
bacteria to stimulate the growth of a legume crop. 

Artificial Methods of Inoculation. There are two meth- 
ods available for inoculating the soil of a certain field with 
bacteria, (1) by the use of laboratory prepared cultures of 
known forms of bacteria which can be put into water, and 
that will develop large numbers of bacteria that can be 
spread over soil areas and harrowed into the soil, and (2) 
by the spreading of soil from a field where the soil is known 
to be well infected with the desired species of bacteria. 
The presence of bacteria in the soil for any legume crop is 
easily determined by examination of the legume crop roots. 
If the soil contains an abundant supply of bacteria, the crop 
roots will be covered with many little nodules or swellings 
that contain the bacteria. 

The first method is unreliable on account of the difficulty 
of controlling all conditions of temperature, moisture, and 
food between the time the culture of bacteria leaves the 
laboratory and the time it gets into the land. Inoculation 
may be successful and it may not — usually not. The second 
method has, therefore, come to be relied on chiefly for the 
inoculation of soil, and, if soil samples are obtained from 
well infected land, satisfactory results are secured. 

In inoculating a soil by means of a soil sample known to 
contain the desired kind of bacteria all that it is necessary 
to do is to obtain a load of soil from the infected field of a 
neighbor and spread this soil at the rate of 200 to 500 pounds 
per acre over the field on which the legume crop is to be 
sown, harrowing it in thoroughly. A good plan is to take the 
soil sample and mix it up thoroughly with barnyard manure, 
using the manure spreader to distribute the mixture on the 



418 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

field. This plan provides for even distribution and also 
provides a supply of available nitrogen for the use of the 
young legume crop. The best time of the year to inoculate 
land depends on the season when the legume crop is to be 
sown, whether spring, midsummer, or autumn. The sample 
of infected soil should be worked into the soil just prior to 
seeding. 

In inoculating a field for alfalfa the inoculated soil sample 
should be secured, if possible, from a neighbor's successful 
alfalfa field. If no neighbors have alfalfa fields, a sample 
of soil may be shipped in from any distance where freight 
rates do not make the cost prohibitive. Also a soil sample 
may be used from roadside patches of sweet clover. One 
of the very best methods for inoculating the soil for an 
alfalfa crop is to sow a green manure crop of sweet clover 
one or two years prior to the time when it is planned to seed 
down to alfalfa. Sweet clover usually catches more easily 
than alfalfa. This practice will aid in inoculating the soil 
as well as in putting the soil in a clean, rich, mellow condition 
for the young crop of alfalfa. 

Similar methods should be employed in inoculating soil 
for the clovers and for soy beans, remembering that the 
safest plan is to get a soil sample from a successful field of 
the same species of legume crop. If the soil is known to be 
supplied with legume crop bacteria, as evidenced by root 
nodules, there will be no further necessity for inoculation, 
even though the same legume crop should not reappear in 
the rotation for several years. It does not usually pay to 
inoculate the soil for cowpeas, vetches, or field peas. The 
bacteria for these legumes follow the seeds everywhere. 
Even with these crops, however, it is very noticeable that the 
second or third crop growing on infected land is better than 
the first crop growing on uninfected land. 



SOIL INOCULATION FOR LEGUMES 419 

A very cheap, and often successful, plan for inoculating 
soil is to anticipate the seeding of a certain legume meadow 
or pasture crop by prior light and scattering seedings of 
legume seeds with such staple crops as corn, cotton, wheat 
or oats. Such light, scattering stands of the legume as may 
thus develop, are plowed under, and soon a sufficient supply 
of bacteria will accumulate to provide the conditions for a 
dependable stand of the desired legume crop. 

Other Conditions Necessary for Legume Growth. Fail- 
ure to get a good stand of such legume crops as alfalfa, red 
clover, or alsike clover, is often due to a poor physical con- 
dition in the seed bed. The seeds of these plants are very 
small and also covered with an oily hull. Good germi- 
nation and strong growth of the young plant cannot be 
had in a rough, lumpy seed bed. The seed bed should 
be well pulverized and compact for this kind of seed. 
In the clover growing regions of the Upper Mississippi 
Valley, experience has shown that thoroughly disked corn 
land will provide better seed bed conditions for a clover 
seeding than spring plowing, for example. Seeding, also, 
should be shallow to get best results with small seeded 
legumes. Poorly drained land is also the cause for much 
legume failure. None of the standard American legume 
crops, except alsike clover, will stand wet soil. 

Insufficient supplies of lime and phosphorus in the soils of 
old farms are often the cause for poor stands of legume crops. 
(A discussion of this feature of legume growing will be found 
on page 306.) 

Note: For complete information on the subject of soil bac- 
teria and legume crops see Bulletin 94, Illinois Agr. Expt. Station. 



CHAPTER III 



SEED SELECTION 

Heavy Seed is Good Seed. Seed selection is an impor- 
tant factor in getting a full crop. Light weight seed, diseased 
seed, and seed with weak germinating power, retard great- 
ly the early growth of plants. A quick, strong start with 
any crop means extra bushels at the harvest. The runt pig 
never makes the gains and the profit that the fast growing 
young pig makes, and similarly the runt plant never catches 
up to the plant that started its life quickly and with the full 
measure of early growth. Heavy seed is usually good seed, 
because it has a strong, vital germ, and a bountiful supply 
of food to nourish the young plant until it can develop a 
root system and gather its own food. Light seed is poor 

seed for the op- 
posite reasons. 

It pays well 
to select good 
seed. The farmer 
who sells his best 
grain and takes 
his seed from 
whatever is left 
puts a severe 
handicap on his 
crop. It is just 
as important to 

Photo by courtesy "The Farmer." gave the bcst 

Good ears of seed corn are those that are cylindrical, geeds foP plant- 
straight rowed, many rowed, well filled at the tip and -l^ 

butt, and having as deep kernels and as high a proportion \J\Q^ the CrOP aS 
of grain to cob as is consistent with the climate. => ^ 




SEED SELECTION 



421 



to save the best heifers for breeding purposes. The best farm 
practice is to save the seed first and sell the balance of the crop. 
How to Select Good Seed. Numerous machines and 
devices are available to grade and select the heavy, plump 
seed that makes good seed. The fanning mill is the most 
common and practical machine for 
this purpose. Good seed can be 
selected out of almost any grain 
bin, if the fanning mill is used cor- 
rectly. There is always a certain 
per cent of good, plump seed in any 
grain sample that can be separated 
from the seeds of poor quality. 
Simply screening the grain, how- 
ever, will not give a good seed 
selection. Large seeds are some- 
times swollen and moldy and, 
therefore, not the best of seed. 
Screening will remove the chaff, 
very small seeds, and most of the 
weed seeds, but it will leave many 
weak, light seeds in the cleaned 
seed. The screens must be supple- 
mented with a strong wind blast, 
regulated according to the kind of 
seed, into which the seed is drop- 
ped, and by means of which all 
light weight seeds are carried over. 
The side shake fanning mill with a long drop between the 
hopper board and the weed screen is the best type of 
machine to select seed grain by weight. But all fanning 
mills can be so adjusted as to put this principle into effect, 
if enough thought and care is given to the adjustment. 




Photo by courtesy"The Farmer . ' ' 

Seed corn hung in such a 
manner as to permit free cir- 
culation of air around the ears 
causing rapid and thorough 
drying. 



422 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Special Care Necessary for Seed Corn. A full stand of 
strong growing corn is of especial importance to the crop 
grower. An incomplete stand is always revealed at husking 
time, and in the Northern limits of the corn belt a slow 
starting, weak crop, may get caught by early frosts in the 
autumn. Good, strong, vital seed corn cannot be had by 

merely grading the shelled 
seed. The sensible, practi- 
cal way to provide good 
seed corn is to give a 
thought to the selection 
and curing of the seed in 
the autumn, and then to 
eliminate all risks from 
weak seed by testing everj'' 
individual ear of corn for 
germination before the 
seed is shelled and run 
into the planter. This 
is easily done by making 
a germination box two 
feet square and six inches 
deep. Rule off a cotton 
cloth into one hundred 
squares two inches by two 
inches and give each 
square a number. Place 
the checkered cloth over 
moist sawdust or bran in 
„. , , , ..fi- jR ^ .. the box. Take as many 

Photo by courtesy rarmer ana Breeder. '' 

Selecting the sound matured, and well earS of Seed COm aS there 

formed ears of corn for seed. Field selection onnnrps! nn tViP plnth 

of seed corn, prior to killing frosts, is an ^re SquarCb OH T/UG CIOIU 

LTrm[na?i'n?power°^ getting seed with high ^^^ ^^g ^^^^ ^^^ ^j^j^ ^ 




SEED SELECTION 



423 



number. Now pull out six to ten kernels of corn from 
the various places on the ear (except tip and butt that 
should be discarded) and place on the cloth square of 
corresponding number. Cover the box with a flannel cloth 
and place in a warm room. Note the per cent of germin- 
ation on each square and discard all seed ears that do 
not give perfect and strong germination. 

After seed is shelled from selected ears it should be 
graded with the "corn grader," the sieves of which will 
take out all irregularly formed kernels. Graded seed will 
run more smoothly through the corn planter than ungraded. 

If seed com is selected by this method, the harvest will 
surely reward the efforts; for the stand will be nearly per- 
fect, and the early growth strong quick and uniform. 




Photo by courtesy "The Farmer." 

A germination box for seed corn by means of which a test can be had on indi- 
vidual ears. The ability of seed corn to germinate varies greatly with different 
ears. The only way to make sure of a full stand of corn is to test the seed from 
every ear. 



CHAPTER IV 
IMPROVED CROP VARIETIES 

Pure Seed of improved crop varieties is to be greatly 
preferred to mixed seed of common varieties. Pure seed 
gives a crop that markets to better advantage than a crop 
from mixed seed, because the quality is more uniform. Not 
only does pure seed market to better advantage than mixed 
seed, but it also results in better crops when used for seed 
purposes. Pure seed will germinate more uniformly than 
mixed seed and thus cause evenness and uniformity in 
the crop stand and crop maturity. 

Improved Varieties, also, have greater productiveness, 
as a rule, than common varieties, and often have other 
desirable characteristics, such as earliness and resistance 
to disease or drouth. Plant breeders have accomplished 
wonderful results in so breeding and selecting farm crops 
as to fix desirable characteristics of productiveness, uni- 
formity, earliness, and resistance to disease. An improved 
crop variety may yield as great an increase over the yield 
of a common variety as that of a well bred dairy cow over 
that of a scrub cow. 

The United States Department of Agriculture, as well as 
the various State Agricultural Experiment Stations, have 
made available to the farmers of the United States a great 
number of new and improved crop varieties adapted to all 
the various agricultural regions of the countr3^ New and 
valuable crops, such as durum wheat, bald barley, Kafir 
corn, proso millets, Sudan grass, and hardy alfalfa, have 
been introduced from foreign countries and distributed 
over the United States. The plant breeders have developed 



IMPROVED CROP VARIETIES 425 




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Photo by courtesy H. L. Bolley, North Dakota Agr. Expt. Station. 
Two plots of flax growing on land infected with flax wilt. The right hand plot 
is a variety that is immune to the disease. 

new and productive varieties of corn that have made possible 
a great extension of the American corn belt into regions 
hitherto regarded as unfavorable for corn. Varieties of 
flax have been developed that are immune to flax wilt, and 
progress is being made in breeding crops immune to rust 
and other diseases. The length of cotton staple has been 
increased; size and smoothness of root crops improved; 
earliness developed in certain grain crops; and numerous 
other improvements made to crops that add to their commer- 
cial value. 

It is profitable for the farmer to use these pure, im- 
proved varieties that have resulted from the work of the 
trained plant breeder. It is not advisable to use seed of 
an improved crop variety brought from a long distance 
and from a climate differing from the local climate. When 
it is deemed advisable to introduce seed of a new variety, 
it is best to obtain it from local sources so far as possible 
and on the advice of the local Agricultural Experiment 



426 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Stations. Seed brought from a great distance may give a 
poor crop on account of variations in climatic conditions. 

Maintaining the Pureness and Productivity of the Im- 
proved Variety rests mainly with the farmer himself. Care- 
ful selection and care of the seed from year to year will 
prevent admixture and running out of the variety, while 
the converse will take place, of course, if the seed is not 
properly selected and cared for. 

There is no doubt that varieties of grain, corn, potatoes, 
or other crop, run out in time, so that the yield is impaired. 
This result is generally due to insufficient attention to 
seed selection. It takes but a few years to impair the 
yield of corn and potatoes, if seed selection is neglected. 

On the other hand, if seed corn ears are selected every 
year to a type considered best for the local conditions, 
the productivity of the variety will increase rather than 
diminish with the passing years. Likewise with potato 
varieties, high yielding plants should be made the basif- 
for selection rather than individual potatoes taken from 
the bins. With such methods of selection the variety 
productivity will not run out. Maintaining the variety 
productivity of such crops as corn and potatoes is greatly 
aided by the use of seed plots where careful attention can 
be given to the selection of the seed. 

When the original seed stock is of a pure, improved, 
productive variety, there is usually more to be gained by 
careful selection of the acclimated, localized variety than 
by a frequent change of varieties. New varieties are 
advisable only when known to have special characteristics 
of great value. It is always wise to proceed slowly with 
the substitution of new varieties for those that have been 
long in use locally, and to give the new variety a small 
field trial before adopting it on a large scale. 



IMPROVED CROP VARIETIES 



427 




CHAPTER V 
FUNGUS DISEASES 

Flax Wilt. This disease can be kept out of the land, if 
treated seed is always sown, if infected straw is burned and 
not used for bedding, and providing threshing machine dust 
from an infected crop is not blown over the land. The flax 
wilt fungus will live in the soil for six to ten years and attack 
a crop of flax at any time when sown. Treating the seed 
is but one of several precautions to use in keeping the disease 
out of the land. The disease is carried over from one year 
to another on the seed, straw, and stubble. Treated seed on 
clean land prevents any loss from wilt; treated seed on in- 
fected land will check the loss, but not entirely prevent it; 
while untreated seed on infected land gives the disease 
every opportunity to cause crop loss. Treating the seed, 
when the seed is secured from other farms, is profitable 
insurance against infecting the land. 

Flax seed cannot be properly treated by machinery. 
The work must be done by hand methods. The seed 
should be carefully fanned before treating to remove all 
badly diseased and weak seeds. Spread the seed to be 
treated on a wagon canvas or cement floor. Prepare a 
solution of weak formaldehyde in a pail or tub (one pint 
or pound of 40% pure formaldehyde to forty-five gallons 
of water). Spray this solution over the seed very slowly 
with a compressed air sprayer such as is used for potato and 
cabbage spraying. (A small knapsack sprayer can be bought 
for $3.00 to $5.00.) Shovel the grain over and over while 
spraying. Apply very little of the solution — just enough 
to merely dampen the seed. Soak the grain sacks, to be 



FUNGUS DISEASES 



429 



used in taking seed to the field, in the solution and hang up 
to dry out, or, better, spread the sacks over the pile of seed. 
Treat the seed six to twelve hours before seeding. Sprink- 
ling the solution on flax with a common sprinkling can is 
very likely to cause caked seed. It is better to use the com- 
pressed air spraj^er and be sure of having seed that will run 
smoothly through the drill. 

Stinking or Covered Smuts of Wheat, Barley, Oats and 
Rye. The stinking or covered smuts of wheat, barley, 
oats and rye, are carried over from one year to another on 
the seed grain only. Properly treated seed gives an abso- 
lutely clean crop, for this fungus disease cannot be trans- 
mitted to a crop from the soil. Perfect control of the disease 




Photo by courtesy H. L. Bolley and M. L. Wilson, N. D Agr. Expt. Sta. 
Treating seed flax with formaldehyde to destroy the spores of the flax wilt 
fungus. The formaldehyde should be applied with a compressed air sprayer 
to secure an even spread of the hquid and prevent caking of the seed. 



430 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

can be had by so treating the seed grain as to destroy the 
vitahty of the smut spores (small, black seeds) that adhere 
to the seed grain. 

The first step in freeing seed grain from smut is to thor- 
oughly fan the seed in order to remove all smut balls, chaff, 
and weak seeds. Then prepare a solution of formaldehyde in 
a tub or pail, using one pint or one pound of 40% pure for- 
maldehyde to forty-five gallons of water. If large quantities 
of seed are to be treated, the smut machine can be used to 
advantage. By means of worm carriers or elevators these 
machines move the seed quickly through the formaldehyde 
solution, drenching the seed thoroughly, and running it out 
to a pile or into sacks. Seed can also be thoroughly treated 
by piling it on a canvas or clean floor and sprinkling the 
solution over the seed with a common garden sprinkling 
can, shoveling the seed grain rapidly while sprinkling. Ap- 
ply only enough of the solution to dampen the seed. Soak 
the sacks in the solution that are to be used in taking the 
seed to the field and spread the sacks over the pile of 
seed grain to dry and to hold the formaldehyde gas in the 
seed mass. Treat the seed at least four or five hours be- 
fore seeding. 

Treating seed grain of wheat, barley, oats, and rye, 
causes the seed to swell slightly by reason of the moisture 
absorbed. The drill should, therefore, be opened a Uttle 
wider to get in the standard amount of dry seed. An 
increase of 15% to 20% in the amount of treated seed over 
dry seed is sufficient to equalize the seeding rate to the stand- 
ard amount. 

Loose Smut of Oats. This fungus causes very heavy- 
damages in oat crops. The smut spores (seeds of the fungus 
plant) are distributed by the wind prior to harvest as well as 
spread through the grain by the threshing machine. The 



FUNGUS DISEASES ' 431 

disease is carried over from one year to another by the seed 
grain only. Crop infection does not come through the soil. 
Perfect control of the disease can be had by seed treatment. 
Use the same methods of treatment as described for the 
stinking smuts of the cereals. 

Loose Smut of Wheat and Barley. The loose smuts of 
wheat and barley cannot be successfully treated on the farm. 
The fungus spores are very resistant to formaldehyde and 
other chemical treatment. The loose smut of barley causes 
considerable damage, but that of wheat, comparatively little. 
If these smuts get into the crop, the practical remedy is to 
change seed at once, getting it as near home as possible and 
free from these smuts. Another way is to grow a small 
seed plot and hand pick the diseased heads of grain before 
harvest. This is not a practical method, however, for the 
ordinary farmer. 

Com Smut. This smut rarely causes heavy damage. 
It cannot be controlled by seed treatment, because the 
fungus spores are very resistant to chemical treatment and 
because the disease can be carried over in the soil. Hand 
picking and burning of the diseased plants is the only remedy. 
If smutty corn gets into the manure pile the. spread of the 
disease is greatly facilitated. Care should be exercised to 
keep smutty corn away from the manure pile and to throw 
it to one side when cutting ensilage. 

Kafir Com Smut. This smut does not cause heavy 
damage to crops. It can be controlled by soaking the seed 
for twelve hours in a solution of one pint or one pound of 
40% pure formaldehyde to sixty-two gallons of water. 

Potato Scab. This disease often causes very great 
damage to both the yield and quality of potatoes. It is 
carried over from one year to another on the seed potatoes 
as well as through the soil. Seed that is free from scab will 



432- FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

not give a clean crop on land that is infected with scab. 
Crop rotation is absolutely essential to the minimizing of 
loss from scab. Fresh manure on potato land is also con- 
ducive to the spread and propagation of scab. It is best 
to use rotted manure on potato land and to put the fresh 
manure on corn land. If fresh manure is to be spread on 
potato land, it is best to spread it in the fall and early- 
winter and permit frost and water to decay it before the 
planting season. 

Treating scabby potato seed will give a clean crop, if the 
soil is not infected. It is regarded best to treat the seed 
before cutting. Soak the tubers two hours in a solution of 
one pint or one pound of 40% pure formaldehyde to thirty 
gallons of water. Large quantities of seed can be very cheap- 
ly treated with little labor, if adequate equipment is provided 
and the work planned properly. The cheapest and handiest 
equipment on the average farm is provided with a small 
block and tackle, hitched to a convenient rafter or beam, 
for lifting the sacks of tubers, and as many water tight 
barrels as are needed to keep seed treated ahead of the cutters. 
Fill the barrels two thirds full with the formaldehyde solu- 
tion and drop a sack of tubers into each barrel to soak for 
two hours. After treatment spread out the tubers to dry 
for a short' time before cutting. This is desirable, but not 
essential. Put the treated and cut seed into sacks that 
have been soaked in the solution, otherwise the seed may 
become infected from the sacks. Change the solution in 
the barrels occasionally as it soon becomes dirty and foul. 
Plan the treating and cutting so as to get the seed into the 
ground in as fresh a condition as possible. This, also, is 
desirable, but not essential. 

Potato Blight. This fungus often causes very great 
damage to potato crops by attacking the leaves, stems and 



FUNGUS DISEASES 



433 



tubers, and so weakening the vitality of the plants as to check 
full maturity and development. At one or both of two 
seasons there may be an attack of blight, (1) early blight 
that comes shortly after the crop is through the soil and 
prior to blossoming, and (2) late blight that usually attacks 
the crop after blossoming and when the tubers have begun 
to form. Early blight attacks the leaves only, entering 
the leaf tissues usually through holes made by insects. Late 
bhght attacks the leaves, stems and often the tubers as well, 
causing decay of plant tissue and premature death. Both 
diseases spread by means of spores (fungus seeds) which 
germinate on the potato leaves or stems and from which a 
tiny parasitic plant develops that gains entrance into the 
plant tissues and saps the strength of the host plant. 

There is no cure for the potato blights, if they have once 



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Phoio by courtesy New York Geneva Agr. Expt. Station. 

Potatoes sprayed with Bordeaux Mixture to prevent blight, and one row not 

sprayed. When blight attacks the potato plant the vines die early and the 

yield is light. Sometimes the late blight works its way into the tubers and 

causes rot. 



434 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

gained entrance to the host plant. Measures can be 
taken, however, to prevent the fungus from gaining entrance 
to the leaf tissues. This is accomplished by spraying the 
potato plants with Bordeaux Mixture and thus coating the 
leaves with a film of protective material. Spraying must 
be done with some form of a compressed air sprayer that 
atomizes the solution into a fine spray. Gravity sprinklers 
will not perform this work successfully. 

Bordeaux Mixture is a combination of copper sulphate 
(bluestone), quicklime, and water. The standard formula 
for potato blight spraying is 3 lbs. copper sulphate, 4 lbs. 
lime, and 50 gallons of water. The solution should be 
made in wooden receptacles, because the copper sulphate 
will badly corrode iron, tin, and zinc receptacles. The mate- 
rials should not be put into one receptacle simultaneously. 
Three receptacles should be provided, one for a stock solu- 
tion of copper sulphate, one for slaking the lime, and a third 
in which to combine the materials for use in the field. Weigh 
out a definite amount of copper sulphate and tie it up in a 
clean grain or salt sack. Hang this sack in a receptacle 
containing one gallon of water for each pound of copper sul- 
phate and leave it there until all the copper sulphate has 
been dissolved. In a second receptacle slake the lime and 
make a milk of lime, using one pound of lime to one gallon 
of water. Into the third receptacle pour from the stock 
solutions of copper sulphate and lime sufficient amounts 
to dilute in the proportions of three gallons of copper sul- 
phate solution and four gallons of milk of lime to 43 gallons 
of pure water. This gives a dilute solution known as Bor- 
deaux Mixture containing three pounds of copper sulphate, 
four pounds of quicklime, and fifty gallons of water. In 
mixing the solution for field use put in the milk of lime first 
and then add the copper sulphate solution. 



FUNGUS DISEASES 435 

Spraying machines should have the tank made either of 
wood or copper, as steel or zinc tanks are quickly corroded 
by the copper sulphate. 

In spraying potatoes for early blight the work of spraying 
for the potato beetle can be done at the same time. Add 
Paris Green to the Bordeaux Mixture at the rate of one 
pound to one hundred gallons of water. 

Sweet Potato Black Rot and Stem Rot. Soak the seed 
in the same manner as for potato scab. Change location 
and soil of the hotbeds occasionally. Drench slightly dis- 
eased hotbeds with a solution of one quart of formaldehyde 
to fifty gallons of water, using one gallon of the solution to 
each square foot of surface in the hotbed. Drench in the 
fall or early spring and do not plant until the odor of formal- 
dehyde has entirely disappeared from the soil of the hotbed. 
Crop rotation is essential to keep land free from this disease. 

Tobacco Root Rot and Bed Rot. Drench the seedling 
bed in fall or early spring with a solution of one quart of for- 
maldehyde to fifty gallonsof water, using a gallon of the solu- 
tion to each square foot of space in the seed bed. Do not seed 
until all odor of formaldehyde has disappeared from the soil. 



CHAPTER VI 
WEED ERADICATION 

Continuous grain cropping, cut-and-cover plowing, non- 
use of cultivated crops and grass crops, and non-use of the 
fanning mill give noxious weeds every opportunity to accum- 
ulate on the farm and to infest the land. Conversely, rota- 
tion cropping, including grass crops and cultivated crops, 
good fall plowing, careful fanning of all seed grain, grass 
headlands along fence lines, and the keeping of live stock, 
particularly sheep, on farm land, provide conditions that 
prevent noxious weeds from infesting the land. There are 
no weed problems associated with good farming, only with 
the shiftless type of farming. Weed eradication, in a. nut- 
shell, is good farming. 

In the cleaning up of a weed infested farm it is well to 
know something about the life habits of the noxious weeds, 
as well as the best methods for quickly eradicating them. 
In the following paragraphs the life habits of a few of the 
most important types of noxious weeds are given as well as 
suggestions for eradication. 

Weed eradication depends on three important principles, 
(1) checking the production and distribution of seed, (2) 
weakening the vitality of weed roots by cutting off the leaves 
and stems (the stomach and lungs) of the plant or shading 
and crowding the weed plant with a quick growmg crop, 
such as buckwheat, hemp or clover, and (3) the actual up- 
rooting of the weed plant with tillage implements. By 
keeping these principles always in mind, and with a knowl- 
edge of the life habits of any weed, it is possible to devise 
numerous methods for cleaning up foul land. 



WEED ERADICATION 437 

Annual Weeds that infest farm lands in quantity are 
wild mustard, wild oats, kinghead or giant ragweed, 
and com cockle. All of these weeds grow up, produce 
their seed, and die down in one year. Each weed 
crop comes up annually from the seed. There are no 
perennial roots to contend with. Checking the production 
and distribution of seed is, therefore, the method of attack. 

Wild Mustard seeds profusely from June until October. 
The seeds are very oily and will stay dormant in land for 
fifteen to twenty years, if buried too deep to germinate. 
Mustard seed harvested with grain crops can be easily 
removed with the fanning mill, but it is nearly impossible to 
remove it from grass seeds. The quickest and best method 
for checking early season seed production in grain fields is to 
spray with a solution of iron sulphate, using seventy-five to 
one hundred pounds of iron sulphate to fifty gallons of water. 
Iron sulphate costs about $15.00 per ton and it takes about 
fifty gallons per acre for badly infested land. The solution 
can be apphed with a regular potato sprayer with the nozzles 
set close together so as to cover the land evenly, or with a 
special weed spraying machine. Iron sulphate will kill the 
mustard plants, but will not injure the young grain. The 
spraying should be done before the mustard has come into 
blossom. 

Tillage methods may also be used to eradicate mustard. 
Disk grain stubble immediately after harvest to induce 
fall germination of seed. Late fall plowing will then bury 
the young plants. In the following spring disk and harrow 
the land to destroy other young plants. Defer grain seeding 
until late in the spring, sowing barley. Harrow the land 
continuously until the grain is three or four inches high. 
This will kill many mustard plants and will not injure the 
grain, if the harrow teeth are slanted backwards. 



438 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Cultivated crops, hand hoeing, and hand pulhng, are 
useful in checking the growth of mustard seed. Care 
should be used also about locating threshing machine set- 
tings of mustard infested grain in or near cultivated fields, 
as mustard patches often start in fields from infested straw 
piles. 

Wild Oats mature their seed very quickly and shed seed 
on the land prior to small grain harvest, particularly in case 
of wheat, late oats, and late sown flax. The seed can be 
separated from wheat, rye, flax, and barley with the fanning 
mill, if proper adjustment is made and a strong wind blast 
used. It is difficult to separate it from oats, but nearly 
complete separation can be made, if a strong wind blast is 
used and if the grain is run through the mill several times. 

Avoid feeding unground, infested oats to horses, especially 
during seasons of working the land. Wild oats will pass 
through the digestive organs of the horse and spread from 
droppings on the land. It paj^s to grind infested grain used 
for feed. 

Plan to seed winter rye or early barley on infested land, 
as these crops mature earlier than wheat and oats and thus 
more of the wild oat seeds can be removed from the land in 
the crop and then fanned out of the seed. 

Disk or shallow plow infested grain land immediately 
after harvest and thus induce fall germination of seed. 
Late fall plowing will then kill the wild oat crop. 

Seed a catch crop of rape or clover with a grain crop and 
pasture the land closely after grain harvest, with sheep, if 
possible. 

Kinghead or Giant Ragweed grows profusely only on 
rich, moist land. Seed matures late in the season and is 
often harvested in quantity with small grain crops. The 
seeds are heavy and of the same size as wheat, barley and 



WEED E RADIO A.TION 439 

plump oats. Seeds cannot be separated from small grain 
with the fanning mill. Separation can be made by immers- 
ing seed 'grain in water and skimming off the kinghead 
seeds that will float to the surface. 

When seed grain becomes badly mixed with kinghead 
the best plan for eradicating the kinghead is to change 
seed and to procure clean seed from a neighbor or some farm 
in the same county. Also use the scythe and mower to cut 
down all kinghead in barnyards, gardens, and along fence 
lines. These practices, when accompanied by clean plowing 
and thorough tillage, will quickly clean the land from this 
weed. It is one of the most easily controlled weeds that 
accumulate on a grain growing farm. 

Com Cockle flowers and matures its seeds almost con- 
temporaneously with wheat and oats. The seed is heavy 
and of about the same size as wheat, barley, and plump oats. 
It cannot be separated satisfactorily from seed grain with 
the fanning mill. Special cockle mills will take out a large 
part of the cockle seed, but not all of it. Cockle seed does 
not shatter on the ground prior to grain harvest as in case of 
mustard and wild oats. The greater part of the seed crop 
is harvested with the grain crop. Clean seed grain will 
give a nearly clean crop. 

Changing seed in order to get cockle free seed is the surest 
and easiest method for eradicating cockle. Hand hoeing, 
hand pulling, and cultivated crops are also useful in quickly 
eradicating this weed 

Biennial Weeds complete their lives in two years. 
During the first year the plant develops a taproot that is 
filled with food material for the plant's growth the 
second spring. From this taproot, and the crown at its 
top, the plant starts growth the second year, and a seed crop 
is produced after which the plant dies and further propaga- 



440 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

tion depends on the seed. Typical biennial weeds are the 
bull thistle and burdock. Eradication depends mainly on 
checking seed production. 

Bull Thistle seed is small, light, and produced in great 
quantity. Feathery tufts of hair attached to the seed aid 
in its distribution by the wind. The bull thistle often ac- 
cumulates in great numbers along roadsides and in pastures 
and meadows. It rarely appears in cultivated fields in suf- 
ficient quantity to be troublesome, because plowing and 
tillage interrupt its two-year life. Mowing the plants with 
scythe or mower in grass lands and along fence lines and 
roadsides will soon exterminate the bull thistle. Seeds of 
the bull thistle are frequently found in clover and grass seeds. 
They are light and easily separated from standard grass 
seeds with the fanning mill. 

Burdock tlowers in late summer and produces seed in the 
early autumn of the second year of its life. The seed is 
distributed chiefly by sheep, horses, and dogs, on whose 
wool, tails or hair the burs adhere. The burdock rarely 
appears in cultivated land as tillage interrupts its life. It 
often accumulates in quantity in meadows, pastures, gar- 
dens, orchards, and along fences and roadsides. Frequent 
cutting with the scythe or mower to prevent seeding will 
quickly eradicate this weed. 

Perennial Weeds die down every year above ground, 
but the roots never die when undisturbed. These weeds 
seed annually. They are introduced into cultivated fields 
by the seed or by portions of the roots that have bud-joints 
from which new plants develop. Noxious perennial weeds 
are very difficult to eradicate, because not only seed distri- 
bution but also root development and distribution must 
be contended with. Typical perennial weeds are Canada 
thistle and quack grass. 



WEED ERADICATION 441 

Canada Thistle flowers from early summer until early 
autumn and matures most of its seed in midsummer. The 
seeds are small, light, and have feathery hairs attached that 
greatly aid in wind distribution. The seeds of Canada thistle 
are often found in clover and grass seeds and great care 
should be used in purchasing grass seeds to see that they are 
pure and clean. Seed should always be fanned when bought 
direct from farmers in districts known to have Canada thistle. 

The roots of Canada thistle will run two feet deep in 
mellow soil and laterally for four feet or more. The roots 
are jointed and young plants arise from these joints at fre- 
quent intervals. From one parent plant an area of ten to 
thirty square feet will become infested in one or two years 
from the spread of the root system. The roots are very 
persistent, frequently jointed, and full of starch to give life 
to bud-joints. Tillage that chops up the roots and spreads 
the divided roots over cultivated land will quickly spread 
the pest. 

Eradication of Canada thistle should proceed along the 
lines of (1) checking the wind distribution of seed, and (2) 
weakening the root vitality so that the roots may be destroyed 
by tillage. In grain growing districts, when the first small 
patches appear, they should be kept mowed down closely 
all summer to prevent seeding and to weaken the roots by 
cutting off the leaf and stem of the plant. At this stage of 
the thistle crop development it will pay well to keep after 
the thistle patches in the grain with a scythe and never per- 
mit the plants to get any growth above ground. After 
grain harvest the mowing of the thistle patches should con- 
tinue until late autumn, if necessary, and then a deep plowing 
in late autumn will throw up many of the weakened roots to 
the killing action of frost. 

If the thistle crop development, under strict grain grow- 



442 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

ing, has proceeded to the point where the thistles are all over 
the land, it is best to take quick and decisive action with a 
bare fallow on the areas worst infested. Either of two prac- 
tices can be followed, by means of the bare fallow, to give 
the land a thorough cleaning: (1) If there is sufficient labor 
and horse power on the farm, thistle infested land should 
be constantly mowed all the spring and summer months. If 
this practice is followed, the thistles must be mowed so often 
and so closely as to absolutely prevent any leaf and stem 
growth. In a warm, rainy season, mold will often get 
into the cut thistle stems and rot out the crowns of the 
plants, and, even if mold does not work injury, the vitality 
of the roots will be greatly injured by this constant mowing, 
and seed distribution will also be checked . In the late autumn 
plow the land and harrow thoroughly in two directions with 
a spring tooth harrow set deep. This will lift out many 
roots, when, if very thick, they can be raked up or left on 
the surface to the killing action of frost. (2) Permit the 
thistles to grow undisturbed on the fallow land until they 
come to blossom. Then plow deeply, using a coulter to 
insure a clean plowing job. Harrow thoroughly for the 
balance of the season with a spring tooth harrow. Should 
the season after plowing be very wet and it appear that the 
thistles are not under control by harrowing, mow them down 
constantly and plow deeply again in the late autumn. In 
most cases, however, plowing under the thistle crop at flow- 
ering time, followed by thorough spring tooth harrowing, 
will give the thistles a death blow. 

Fallowed thistle land should be followed with a culti- 
vated crop such as corn, if possible. Check rowed corn and 
cross cultivation are, of course, preferable to drilled corn and 
one-way cultivation, but a follow crop of fodder corn or 
potatoes is much better than a follow crop of small grain. 



WEED ERADICATION 443 

A cultivated follow crop with some hand hoeing or cutting 
will put an end to the thistles, if the work is thoroughly done. 

Beginning with a fallow year and following with a three- 
course rotation of barley, clover and corn, will surely put an 
end to Canada thistles on any land, if the work is thoroughly 
done. The barley land should be thoroughly harrowed in 
the spring before seeding, to set back any thistles. Sow 
clover heavily with the barley (6 to 8 lbs. per acre). The 
clover will shade the land and crowd the thistles hard during 
its occupancy of the land, and the two cuttings of clover will 
prevent all seed distribution. Plow the clover land deeply 
in the autumn. Frequent cultivation of the corn with some 
hand hoeing of scattering plants will effectually finish the 
task, and four years of such cultivation will usually yield 
more revenue than four years of continuous grain growing 
on thistle infested land. 

Quack Grass is the most difficult of all noxious weeds to 
contend with, on account of the great persistence and re- 
cuperative power of its underground stems. These stems run 
in all directions in the furrow-slice and are thickly jointed. 
Any stem portion having one of these bud-joints will pro- 
duce a plant, if placed in moist, warm soil. These under- 
ground stems will dry out until apparently dead and then 
come back to life again with the first rainfall. Tillage imple- 
ments are likely to drag these stems over land and hasten 
the spread of the weed. 

Quack grass flowers in early summer and ripens its seeds 
in midsummer. Fortunately the seed does not easily shatter 
and is easily removed from the land when grain crops are 
harvested. Most farms become infested, however, by means 
of the seed. Threshing machines spread it, and much grass 
seed, especially brome grass seed, is likely to be foul. It 
cannot be removed from brome grass with the fanning mill, 

29 



444 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

but is easily blown or screened out of clover, alfalfa, timothy, 
and small grain seeds. The seed of quack grass is from one 
fourth to three eighths of an inch long, narrow, and light 
brown in color. It is usually bearded, but not always. The 
greatest care should be used not to seed down land with seed 
containing even a few seeds of quack grass, for, if once 
started, it brings a train of trouble in its wake. 

Some wit has said the "best way to get rid of quack 
grass is to seed the land to winter rye and sell the land with 
the crop thrown in for good measure." This plan may solve 
the quack grass problem by avoiding it, but it does not help 
the real farmer and home maker. Unfortunately quack 
grass is a far worse problem on rich land than on poor land, 
and failure to eradicate it on good land puts the good land 
back to second or third quality land. 

Delay in attacking quack grass is only pihng up trouble 
and heavy expense for the future, for, if once started in rich 
land, it spreads like wildfire under ordinary tillage methods, 
especially with continuous grain growing. The time to 
attack quack grass most successfully is when it first puts in 
its appearance in small, round patches of thick sod. At 
this stage it can be easily smothered by covering with tar 
paper fastened down with earth and stones. A small invest- 
ment in tar paper and time at this stage of development 
will save hundreds of dollars as compared to neglecting it 
until it spreads badly. The covered patches need careful 
watching to see that the grass does not creep out under the 
tar paper. Follow the smothering of the patches with deep 
plowing and thorough spring tooth harrowing, or, better 
still, put in a few days working over the smothered patches 
with a manure fork and sift out the weakened roots. This 
will put an effectual crimp in the quack grass at the outset. 

If quack grass has spread beyond the early small patch 



WEED ERADICATION 445 

stage, it is best to resort to the bare fallow at once, rotating 
the fallow over the infested land so as to have but a part of 
the land idle in any one season. In fallowing the infested 
land do not disturb the quack grass in the spring and early 
summer, and then plow deeply when the grass is about ready 
to flower. This plowing will catch the crop at a weak place 
in its growth, because it will have given up much of its root 
strength to the production of seed, and, also, because, in 
regions where quack grass flourishes the best, the season after 
flowering is hot and comparatively dry. After plowing, 
run a sub-surface packer or disk harrow (with the disks 
set straight ahead) over the land to pack down the plowing, 
close up air spaces in the soil, and assist the work of suffocat- 
ing the crop. Thoroughly harrow the land for the balance 
of the season with a spring tooth harrow, and, if the roots 
are pulled out in quantity, it is a good plan to rake them up 
and bum them. Another good plan is to put on a thickly 
sown buckwheat crop after the midsummer plowing that will 
smother some of the quack grass and give an income from the 
land. In either case it is best to follow the fallow year with 
a com crop. Ensilage or fodder com is excellent for this 
purpose, because it can be sown much later than field corn 
and thus give an opportunity for semi-fallowing in the spring. 
A two-year rotation of fodder corn and winter rye gives 
a good opportunity to attack the quack grass. Seed the 
winter rye on the corn land well plowed and harrowed to 
remove as many grass roots as possible. After rye harvest, 
plow deeply, pack the plowing, and fallow for the balance 
of the season with thorough spring tooth harrowing. A 
second plowing late in the autumn might pay on land very 
badly infested. Plant the fodder corn thickly in early sum- 
mer, harrowing the land often with the spring tooth harrow 
during the spring. If harrowing fails to check the grass 



446 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

growth, plow deeply in late spring just prior to planting the 
fodder corn. 

In cultivating com or other crops on quack grass infested 
land the cultivation should be shallow and very continuous. 
The Tower surface cultivator is an ideal implement for this 
purpose. The value of shallow cultivation lies in the fact 
that it does not root up and spread the jointed roots of quack 
grass, but thoroughly kills all surface vegetation and thus 
weakens the vitality of the roots. 

Sheep are useful in eradicating quack grass. Badly 
infested land can be seeded down to clover and timothy, 
the first crop cut for hay, and then pastured closely with 
sheep for the balance of the first year and for one or more 
years following, after which deep plowing, thorough har- 
rowing, and a year of ensilage or fodder corn, well cultivated, 
will give the crop of quack grass a severe setback. 



PROBLEMS AND PRACTICUMS 

(1) What do you regard as the proper depth to plow land in your 

community? State reasons. 

(2) What is the cost of plowing an acre of land with a 14 in. walking 

plow and two horses; with a 16 in. sulky plow and three horses; 
with a two-bottom 14 inch gang plow and four horses; and 
with a gas engine tractor having afour-bottom 14 in. gang plow? 

(3) What are the difficulties commonly encountered in inoculating 

land with prepared cultures of bacteria? 

(4) What are the important weed seeds in your community that 

cannot be eUminated from seed grain by a fanning mill? How 
would you eliminate such seeds? 

(5) What are the best methods to follow in the selection of seed corn 

ears? Best method of storing seed corn ears to preserve 
vitahty? 

(6) Prepare a germination seed box and conduct a germination test 

for individual ears of corn. 



WEED ERADICATION 447 

(7) Will the formaldehyde treatment for seed flax and seed potatoes 

prevent crop injury from flax wilt or potato scab in case 
these diseases existed on the land the previous year? 

(8) How would you eliminate the open smut of barley? 

(9) Perform the formaldehyde treatment for seed wheat or other 

seed grain, and for seed potatoes. 

(10) Can potato bhght be destroyed after it haa made its appearance 

on the crop? 

(11) How long will wild mustard, wild oats, and corn cockle seeds 

maintain their vitality when buried in the soil? 



APPENDIX 
COMPENDIUM OF FACTS AND STATISTICS 



RULES FOR MEASURING HAY IN MOWS AND 

STACKS; GRAIN AND ROOTS IN BIN; CORN 

IN CRIB; AND THE ACREAGE OF FIELDS 

Tons of Hay in Mows. Compute the number of cubic 
feet in the mow by multiplying length by width by depth. 
Divide the total number of cubic feet in the mow by the 
number of cubic feet in one ton of hay, which is usually about 
400 for well settled timothy or prairie hay, and the quotient 
so obtained will be the number of tons. The number of 
cubic feet in one ton of hay varies greatly with the kind of 
hay, the length of time it has settled, and the size and depth 
of the hay mass. Timothy and prairie hay pack closer than 
alfalfa or red clover and, therefore, a smaller number of 
cubic feet per ton should be used. In the accompanying 
table a few estimates are shown relative to the number of 
cubic feet required to make a ton of hay. 



Depth of Mow or Height 
of Stack 


Length of Time Standing 


Cubic Feet Required 


10 ft. to 12 ft. 
10 ft. to 12 ft. 
12 ft. to 15 ft. 
12 ft. to 15 ft. 
15 ft. to 18 ft. 
18 ft. to 20 ft. 


30 days 
60 days 
30 days 
60 days 
30 days 
60 days or more 


613 
512 
512 
422 
422 
343 



From Farm Management by Andrew Boss. 



450 FIELD 3IANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Tons of Hay in Stacks. The number of cubic feet in a 
hay stack equals .31 multiplied by the overthrow (distance 
from the ground on one- side over the top of the stack to the 
ground on the other side) by the width by the length. Di- 
vide the total number of cubic feet in the stack by the number 
of cubic feet in one ton, and the quotient will be the number 
of tons in the stack. As hay stacks are not commonly over 
12 feet in depth, an average rule for the number of cubic feet 
in one ton of stacked hay is : 600 cubic feet for hay standing 
30 days, and 500 cubic feet for hay standing 60 days or more. 

Bushels of Grain in Bins. Compute the number of cubic 
feet in the bin by multiplying length by width by depth. 
Divide this sum by 1.244 (number of cubic feet in one bushel) 
and the quotient will be the approximate number of bushels 
in the bin. For more accurate figuring, the number of cubic 
feet in the bin may be reduced to cubic inches by multiplying 
by 1728 (cubic inches in 1 cubic foot) and the sum so ob- 
tained divided by 215J.42 (cubic inches in one bushel). 

Bushels of Potatoes or Other Roots in Bins. Use same 
method as for grain in bins. 

Bushels of Corn in the Crib. Compute the number of 
cubic feet in the crib by multiplying length by width by 
depth in case of a square angled bin or crib. Most corn 
cribs are made wider at the top than at the bottom. In 
such cribs average the width of the crib at the top of the corn 
mass with the width at the bottom of the crib and multiply 
by length and depth to obtain cubic contents. Divide the 
number of cubic feet in the crib by 2.5 (the approximate 
number of cubic feet of ear corn to give one bushel of shelled 
grain), and the quotient so obtained will be the approximate 
number of bushels of shelled corn in the crib. 

Bushels of Grain or Ear Corn in Wagon Boxes. A com- 
mon farm wagon is usually 10 feet long and 3 feet wide and 



MEASURING ACREAGE 451 

will hold approximately two bushels of grain for every inch 
in depth. Corn on the cob is calculated at the rate of one 
inch in depth to a bushel of shelled grain. 

If the wagon box is 11 feet long and 3 feet wide, there 
are about 2.2 bu. of grain for every inch in depth, and 
about 1.1 bu. of shelled corn for every inch of ear corn. 

Acreage of Fields. Field acreages may be computed 
in either rods or feet. One mile is 320 rods or 5,280 feet. 
One acre contains 160 square rods or 43,560 square feet. 
Measurement by feet has become more common than 
measurement by rods. No matter how crooked a field may 
be, the exact acreage may be easily determined, if measure- 
ments are so taken as to plat the field into one or more of the 
geometric figures that are the common basis for com- 
puting acreage, namely, the rectangle, triangle or trapezoid. 

The rectangle has four sides with opposite sides parallel, 
and the number of square feet or rods that it contains is 
easily determined by multiplying length by width. The 
triangle is three sided with no sides parallel, and its area is 
determined by multiplying one half the length of the base by 
the altitude. In surveying a triangular field to get the prop- 
er measurements for computing the area, measure the length 
of any side and then run a perpendicular hne from this side 
to the opposite apex of the triangle. This perpendicular 
line is called the altitude and the side of the triangle from 
which the perpendicular line was projected is called the base. 
The trapezoid is four sided, with two sides parallel and two 
sides not parallel. Its area is computed by multiplying one 
half the sum of the length of the parallel sides by the length 
of the altitude (a perpendicular line projected from one 
parallel side to the other). Acreage is determined by 
dividing the number of square rods or square feet in the field 
by the number of square rods or square feet in one acre. 



452 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



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454 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



AMOUNTS OF SEED PER ACRE. DEPTH TO PLANT. 

METHODS OF PLANTING. CROPS ANNUAL, 

BIENNIAL OR PERENNIAL 





Annual 


Amount of 








Crops 


Biennial 


Seed per 


Depth 


to 


Best Method 




Peren- 


Acre 


Plant 


of Planting 




nial 












P 


10-15 lbs. 












in 




wheelbarrow seed- 


Alfalfa (drilled) 


P 


8-10 lbs. 


1-2 


in 


Grass seeding at- 












tachment on grain 












drill 


Barley (humid climate) 


A 


2-2H bu. 


2 


in. 


Grain drill 


Barley (semi-arid climate) .... 


A 


IH bu. 


3 


in. 


Grain drill 


Bean, field (small seed) 


A 


2-3 pks. 


3 


in. 


Grain drill in rowa 
28", 30", 35", 36" 
apart 












Bean, field (large seed) 


A 


5-6 pks. 


3 


in. 


Grain drill in rows 
28", 30", 35", 36" 
apart 


Bean, broad (seed) 


A 


40-50 lbs. 


3 


in 


Grain drill in rows 
28", 30", 35", 36" 
apart 


Bean, broad (forage or silage) 


A 


60-70 lbs. 


3 


in. 


Grain drill in rows 
21", 24" apart 


Bean, velvet 


A 


H-1 pk. 


3 


in. 


Bean planter, gar- 
den drill, or bv 
hand in furrows: 
rows 42"— 48" 
apart; 2' -3' in 
rows 


Beets, sugar 


B 


12-lGlbs. 


1-1>^ 


in. 


Beet planter, gar- 
den drill, or corn 
planter with sor- 
ghum plates 


Beets, stock 


B 


S-12 lbs. 


1-1 H 


in. 


Beet planter, gar- 
den drill, or corn 
planter with sor- 
ghum plates 


Blue grass (alone) 


P 


15-20 lbs. 


1-1]^ 


in. 


Shotgun seeder or 
wheelbarrow seed- 


Blue grass (mixtures) 


P 


4-8 lbs. 


1-1'^ 


in. 


Shotgun seeder, 
wheelbarrow 
seeder, or grass 
seeding attach- 
ment on grain 
drill 


Brome grass (alone) 


P 


6-S lbs. 


1-1]^ 


in. 


Brome grass seed- 
er, with grain 
seed in drill, hand 
sow and harrow in 


Brome grass (mixtures) 


P 


4-6 lbs. 


1-13^ 


in. 


Brome grass seed- 
er, .with grain 
seed in drill, hand 
sow and harrow in 



PLANTING DATA 



455 



Amount?, of Seed per Acre. Depth to Plant. Methods of Planting. 
Crops Annual, Biennial or Perennial — Continued. 





Annual 


Amount of 








Biennial 


Seed per 


Depth to 


Best Method 


Crops 


Peren- 
nial 


Acre 


Plant 


of Planting 


Broom-corn 


A 


2 quarts 


lJ^-2 in. 


Corn planter with 
sorghum plates or 
grain drill, rows 
36-42 in. apart 


Buckwheat 


A 


3 pks-l bu. 


11.^-2 in. 


Grain drill 


Clover, alsike (alone) 


P 


4-5 lbs 


1-1 Ji in. 


Grass seeding at- 
tachment on grain 
drill 


Clover, alsike (mixtures) 


P 


2-3 lbs. 


1-1 '2 in- 


Grass seeding at- 
tachment on grain 
drill 


Clover, crimson 


A 


4-G lbs. 


1-1 !'2 in- 


Grass seeding at- 
tachment on grain 
drill 


Clover, mammoth 


P 


4-6 lbs. 


1-13 2 in- 


Grass seeding at- 
tachment on grain 
drill 




B 


4-6 lbs. 


1-1 J2 in. 


Grass seeding at- 










tachment on grain 










drill 


Clover, red (mixtures) 


B 


3-5 lbs. 


1-1, '2 in- 


Grass seeding at- 
tachment on grain 
drill 


Clover, sweet 


B 


10-15 lbs. 


1-2 in. 


Grass seeding at- 
tachment on grain 
drill 


Clover, white (mixtures) .... 


P 


2-3 lbs. 


1-Ui in. 


Grass seeding at- 
tachment on grain 
drill 


Corn, grain 


A 


7-9 lbs. 


11-2}^ in. 


Check row corn 

planter 
Corn planter or 


Corn, fodder-ensilage 


A 


J^-1 bu. 


li-2)^in. 










grain drill 


Cotton 


A 


1-11^ bu. 


2-3 in. 


Cotton planter 


Cowpeas, seed crop 


A 


2-3 pks. 


3 in. 


Grain drill in rows 
35"-36" apart 


Cowpeas, forage or green man- 












A 


4-5 pks. 


3 in. 


Grain drill in rows 




12"-14" apart 


Emmer or Speltz 


A 


2-3 bu. 


2-3 in. 


Grain drill 


Flax, seed crop 


A 


15-30 lbs. 


11-^-2 in. 


Grain drill 


Flax, fiber crop 


A 


^.-^}4 bu. 


l}^-2 in. 


Grain drill 


Hemp 


A 


1 bu. 


2 in. 


Grain drill 


Japan Clover (see Lespedeza) 










Kafir corn, seed crop 


A 


3-6 lbs. 


1-1 J ^ in. 


Corn planter with 
sorghum plates, 
or grain drill, 
rows 35", 36" or 
42" apart 


Kafir corn, forage crop 


A 


1-lJ-^ bu. 


1-1)^ in. 


Grain drill in rows 
28", 30", 35" or 
36" apart. 



456 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Amounts of Seed per Acre. Depth to Plant. Methods of Planting. 
Crops Annual, Biennial or Perennial — Continued. 



Crops 



Lespedeza . 



Lupine 

Mangel-wurzel. . 

Millet, barnyard 
Millet, German. . 

Millet, hog 

Millet, Japanese. 
Millet, Proso. . . . 



Milo maize 

Oats, (humid climate) . . . 
Oats, (semi-arid climate) 
Orchard grass 

Peanut 



Peas, Canadian field (alone) . . 
Peas, Canadian field with oats 

Peas, wrinkled (seed) 

Pop-corn 

Potato, Irish 

Potato, sweet 

Rape, broadcast alone 

Rape, catch crop 



Annual 
Biennial 
Peren- 
nial 



Amount of 
Seed per Depth to 
Acre Plant 



Redtop, alone . . . . 
Redtop, mixtures 



10-15 lbs. 



80-100 lbs. 
5-8 lbs. 



1-2 pks. 
1-2 pks. 
2-3 pks. 
2-3 pks. 
2-3 pks. 



(Same as K 

2^-3 bu. 

1 li-2 bu. 

8-12 lbs. 



2 bu 
2 bu. oats 
1 bu. peas 

3 bu. 
3 lbs. 

8-15 bu 

(Plants set 

3-4 lbs 



2-3 lbs 



4-6 lbs. 



2-6 lbs. 



2 in, 
1-1, 4 in. 



1-lH in 
1-1 H in, 
l-l}^ in, 
1-11^ in, 
1-1 ii in. 



afir corn) 
2-3 in. 
2-3 in. 

l-lj^ in. 



2-3 in 
2-3 in 

3-4 in 

1-\14 in 

3-4 in 
in field fr 
Harrow 



1-1 1^ in 



1-1 J-^ in 



1-lH in 



Best Method 
of Planting 



Shotgun s eeder, 
wheelbarrow 
seeder, or grass 
seeding attach- 
ment on grain drill 

Grain drill in rows 
12" to 14" apart 

Beet planter, gar- 
den drill, or corn 
planter with sor- 
ghum plates 

Grain drill. For 
hay crop sow same 
as cereals with all 
tubes open. For 
seed crop of hog, 
Proso and Japan 
millets sow in cul- 
tivable rows 28' 
to 36" apart 

Grain drill 

Grain drill 

Wheelbarrow seed- 
er or with grain 
in the grain drill 

Hand sow or with 
planter in culti- 
vable rows, plants 
8" to 12" apart 

Grain drill 

Grain drill 

Grain drill 
Garden drill or 

corn planter 
1 or 2 row planter 
om hotbeds 
Shotgun seeder or 

wheelbarrow 

seeder 

With seed grain in 
grain drill or with 
shotgun seeder in 
corn last cultiva- 
tion 

Wheelbarrow seed- 
er or grass seeding 
attachment on 
grain drill 

Wheelbarrow seed- 
eror grass seeding 
attachment on 
grain drill 



PLANTING DATA 



457 



Amounts of Seed per Acre. Depth to Plant. Methods of Planting. 
Crops Annual, Biennial or Perennial— Continued. 



Crops 



Rice 

Rutabaga. 



Rye, (humid climate) . . . 
Rye, (semi-arid climate) 

Rye grass 

Sainfoin 

Sorghum, (seed crop) . . . 
Sorghum, (fodder crop) . 



Soy bean, (seed crop) . 



Soy bean (forage or green 
manure) 



Speltz (see Emmer) 

Sudan grass (humid climate) 
Sudan grass (semi-arid climate) 



Sugar cane 

Sunflower , 

Timothy, (alone) 

Timothy (mixtures) 

Tobacco 

Turnip (drills) 

Vetch, hairy 

Vetch, kidney 

Vetch, Dakota 

Wheat, (humid climate) . . . 
Wheat, (semi-arid climate) 
Wheat, durum (humid) . . . . 
Wheat, durum (semi-arid). 



Annual 
Biennial 
Peren- 
nial 



Amount of 

Seed per 

Acre 



3-5 lbs 



1 bu 

2 bu 
40-60 lbs 
of hulled 

seed. 

3-5 lbs. 
3-5 pks. 



H bu. 



3 pks. 



16-24 lbs. 
4-6 lbs. 



Depth to 
Plant 



2-3 

2-3 

1-1^ 

3-4 



2 in 
2 in. 



1-13^ in, 
lH-2 in 



4 T. cane 3-6 in 



8-10 lbs. 



10-15 lbs. 



5-8 lbs. 



(1 tablespo 



lib. 

2-4 pks. 

2-4 pks. 

2-4 pks. 

IM-I3^bu. 

50-60 lbs. 

IH bu. 

1 bu. 



1}^ in 



1-13^ in. 



1-1 H in. 



onful see 



1 in. 
1-2 in. 
1-2 in. 
1-2 in. 

2 in. 

3 in. 

2 in. 

3 in. 



Best method 
of Planting 



Grain drill 

Broadcast with 
shotgun seeder, 
wheelbarrow 
seeder, or drill 
with garden drill 

Grain drill 

Grain drill 

Hand sow 

Grain drill 



Corn planter with 
sorghum plates 

Corn planter with 
sorghum plates or 
grain drill in 24"- 
36" rows 

Bean planter, corn 
planter or grain 
drill in cultivable 
rows 30" to 36" 
apart 

Grain drill in 12" 
to 14" rows 



Grain drill 

Grain drill in cul- 
tivable rows 28 ' 
30" 35' or 36" 
apart. 

Cuttings set in fur- 
rows 4'-6' apart 
and covered with 
a plow 

Corn planter or 
grain drill 36" to 
42" rows 

Grass seeding at- 
tachment on grain 
drill 

Grass seeding at- 
tachment on grain 
drill 

d to 100 sq . yards of 
seed bed will 
plant 6 acres) 

Garden drill 

(jlrain drill 

Grain drill 

Grain drill 

Grain drill 

Grain drill 

Grain drill 

Grain drill 



458 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



STANDARD GRASS MIXTURES 



2. 



(1) Rotation Meadows and Pastures. 

3 



Timothy 8 lbs. 
Red clover 5 lbs. 

Timothy 8 lbs. 
Alsike clover 3 lbs. 



Brome grass 6 lbs. 
Alsike clover 3 lbs. 

Timothy 6 lbs. 

Red-top 4 lbs. clean seed. 

Red clover 4 lbs. 



(2) Permanent Meadows or Pastures (High, Well Drained Land). 



Timothy 8 lbs. 
Alsike clover 3 lbs. 

Brome grass 6 lbs. 
Timothy 4 lbs. 
Alsike clover 3 lbs. 



Timothy 6 lbs. 

Redtop 4 lbs. clean seed 

Alsike clover 3 lbs. 

Kentucky Blue grass 6 lbs. 
White clover 1 lb. 
Timothy 6 lbs. 
Alsike clover 2 lbs. 



(3) Permanent Meadows or Pastures (Lowland). 



Timothy 4 lbs. 

Redtop 4 lbs. clean seed 

Alsike 3 lbs. 

Brome grass 6 lbs. 
Timothy 4 lbs. 
Alsike clover 3 lbs. 



Perennial rye grass 10 lbs. 
Alsike clover 3 lbs. 



COMPOSITION OF MANURE 



459 



COMPOSITION AND AMOUNTS OF MANURE PRO- 
DUCED BY DIFFERENT KINDS OF 
FARM ANIMALS. 





Analysis 


Amount per 1,000 Lbs. 
Live Weight 


Kind of Animal and Kinds of 
Food Fed 


V 

a 

a 

u 


o 

a 
o 
o 

p-( 



fL, 

g 2 

O 

" a 


it 
a 

o 

a 

a 

"S 

t. 3 




a 
0. 


d3 

U 

V 

o. 


a 

o 
•^ S? 

1-! a 

5,000 

5,000 

3,000 
3,300 


as 

CD (U 

go- 

IS 
°^ 


Sheep. Fed hay, corn, oats; or 
hay, wheat bran, cotton seed 
meal and linseed meal 

Swine. Fed skim milk, corn 
meal, meat scraps; or corn 
meal, wheat bran and linseed 
meal 

Cattle. Fed hay, silage, beets, 
wheat bran, corn meal, and 
cottonseed meal 


59.52 

74.13 

75.25 
4S.G9 


.77 

.84 

.43 
.49 


4.10 

.17 

.127 
.114 


.59 

.32 

.44 
.48 


34.1 

83.6 

74.1 

48.8 


12,446 

30,514 

27,040 
17,812 


8.7 

17.7 
15 


Horses. Fed hay, oats, corn 
meal and wheat bran 


10.5 



Note: The analyses and amounts of manure produced by farm 
animals, as shown in this table, are from the Cornell Experiment 
Station, and the estimates of pounds absorbents per year from "Farm 
Management" by Andrew Boss. It is estimated that under average 
farm conditions 50% of the elements of fertiUty in f arm manures is lost 
by leaching and fermentation. Direct hauling of manure to the field, 
or composting in concrete pits, will prevent much of this loss. 

AMOUNTS OF NITROGEN, PHOSPHORUS, AND 
POTASSIUM IN ANIMAL PRODUCTS. 





Amount 


Pounds 


Animal Products 


Nitrogen 


Phosphorus 


Potassium 


Fat cattle 


1,000 lbs. 

1,000 lbs. 

10,000 lbs. 

500 lbs. 


25 
18 
57 

1 


7 
3 
7 
0.2 


1 


Fat hogs 

Milk 


1 
12 


Butter 


0.1 







From Bulletin 123, Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station. 



30 



460 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



ANNUAL MAINTENANCE COSTS FOR 
DAIRY CATTLE. 
(From Bulletin 88, Bureau of Statistics, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) 
Average Annual Food Consumption per Cow. 





ar 


S.E. Minn 


S.W. 


Minn. 




N.W. 


Minn. 


Ye 


9 

o 




■v3 

lU 

IP 

1 


3 
Oh 


bC 

a 

J3 

tn 

3 
O 

PS 


g-3 


T3 
o 


3 


bs 
a 
J3 
bO 

3 
o 


^•3 

a >- 


•a 


3 

s 

PL, 


1904 

1905 


Lbs. 
(') 
6,014 
5,272 
4,766 
5,554 
6,345 


Lbs. 
0) 
584 
418 
609 
421 
656 


Lbs. 
(1) 
306 
308 
239 
420 
357 


Days 

174 
173 
157 
170 
160 


Lbs. 

(1) 
3,409 
4,513 
3,939 
4,250 


Lbs. 

1,045 

1,100 

631 

379 


Lbs. 

33 
161 
250 
391 


Days 

(J) 

(•) 
178 
154 
182 
171 


Lbs. 

5,290 

5,923 

6,005 

4,666 

6,501 

4,800 

6,531 


Lbs. 
635 
570 
906 
678 
706 
834 

722 


Lbs. 
15 
4 
55 
128 
59 
15 

46 


Days 
168 
153 


1906 


124 


1907 


151 


1908 


162 


1909 


157 


Avera 
1904- 


ge: 
-1909 
-1909 
-1909 


153 


1905 


5,590 


538 


326 


167 












1906- 


4,028 


789 


209 


171 





























* No data. 



Annual Cost of Maintenance of a Cow 

(S. E. MINNESOTA) 





1905 


1906 


1907 


1908 


1909 


Average 
1905-09 




Dollars 

.78 

2.89 

22.77 

16.99 

3.15 

2.46 

1.68 

.28 

1.65 

1.77 


Dollars 

.55 

2.31 

23.79 

17.26 

2.04 

2.46 

1.97 

.26 

1.84 

1.92 


Dollars 

.74 

3.04 

24.12 

16.47 

1.43 

2.46 

1.82 

.61 

2,13 

2.02 


Dollars 

1.03 

5.37 

27.00 

22.88 

3.47 

2.46 

4.50 

.99 

2.12 

2.53 


Dollars 

.71 

5.18 

21.72 

20.56 

2.67 

2.46 

6.74 

.90 

2.26 

3.62 


Dollars 
.75 


Cash Feed 


3.65 




23.85 




18.66 




2.53 


Shelter 


2.48 




3.19 


Machinery and Equipment. . . . 
Herd Bulls 


.58 
1.98 


Interest on Investment 


2.35 


Total 


54.42 


54.40 


54.84 


72.35 


66.82 


60.00 







MAINTENANCE COST OF COWS 

(S. W. MINNESOTA) 



461 





1906 


1907 


1908 


1909 


Average 
1906-09 




Dollars 

.38 

.16 

18.69 

13.64 

1.53 

2.46 

.36 

.23 

1.42 

1.59 


Dollars 

.17 

1.67 

22.43 

17.01 

2.21 

2.46 

.35 

.66 

2.93 

1.46 


Dollars 

.46 

2.46 

20.17 

12.74 

1.31 

2.46 

.34 

.98 

1.61 

1.46 


Dollars 

.18 

3.64 

18.30 

14.66 

3.05 

2.46 

.40 

1.97 

1.69 

1.52 


Dollars 
.28 


Cash Feed 


1.49 


Farm Feed 


20.33 




15.01 




1.97 


Shelter 


2.46 




.36 


Machinery and Equipment 


.71 


Herd Bulls 


2.08 


Interest on Investment 


1.51 


Total 


40.46 


51.35 


43.99 


47.87 


46.20 





(N. 


W. MINNESOTA) 










1904 


1905 


1906 


1907 


1908 


1909 


Average 
1904-09 




Dollars 

.13 

.11 

16.97 

16.09 

2.42 

2.46 

.30 

.31 
1.84 
1.57 


Dollars 

.15 

.23 

15.74 

15.60 

2.36 

2.46 

.28 

1.46 
2.90 

r.4i 


Dollars 

.49 

.40 

17.73 

17.73 

2.72 

2.46 

.31 

.76 
2.19 
1.55 


Dollars 

.'65 

1.05 

18.15 

18.64 

1.69 

2.46 

.29 

.96 
2.07 
1.46 


Dollars 

.39 

.70 

23.06 

19.04 

2.76 

2.46 

.29 

.81 
2.79 
1.46 


Dollars 

.34 

.16 

24.51 

20.83 

4.48 

2.46 

.32 

1.32 

2.88 
1.61 


Dollars 
.39 


Cash Feed 


.48 


Farm Feed 


19.60 


Labor 


18 20 


General Expense 

Shelter 


2.75 
2 46 




.30 


Machinery and Equip- 


.92 


Herd Bulls 


2.42 


Interest on Investment. . 


1.51 


Total 


42.20 


42.59 


46.34 


47.42 


53.76 


58.91 


49 03 







462 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Percentage of Items of Cost of Maintenance to Total Maintenance. 


Item 


S.E. Minn. 
Average 
5 years 


S.W. Minn. 
Average 
4 years 


N.W. Minn. 
Average 
6 years 


Cash sundries 


Per Cent. 

1.2 
6.1 
39.7 
31.1 
4.2 
4.1 
5.3 
1.0 
3.3 
4.0 


Per Cent. 

0.6 

3.2 

44.0 

32.5 

4.3 

5.4 

.8 

1.5 

4.5 

3.2 


Per Cent. 
0.8 


Cash feed 


1.0 


Farm feed 


39.9 


Labor 


37.1 


General expense 


5.6 


Shelter 


5.0 


Depreciation 


.6 


Machinery and equipment 

Herd bulls, maintenance of 

Interest on investment 


1.9 
4.9 
3.2 








100.0 


100.0 


100.0 



QUANTITY OF MILK REQUIRED TO COVER 

COSTS OF MAINTENANCE OF COWS 

OF DIFFERENT VALUE. 

(From Bulletin 88, Bureau of Statistics, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) 





Cost o 


E Maintenance per Year 


Milk at $1.20 










per 100 Pounds 


Value of Cow 








Required to 








Cover Cost 




Interest and 


Ail Otlier 




per Year 




Depreciation 


Costs 


Total 




Dollars 


Dollars 


Dollars 


Dollars 


Pounds 


40.00 


4.36 


54.45 


58.81 


4,901 


50.00 


6.22 


54.45 


60.67 


5,056 


60.00 


8.10 


54.45 


62.55 


5,212 


70.00 


9.96 


54.45 


64.41 


5,368 


80.00 


11.84 . 


54.45 


66.29 


5,524 


90.00 


13.70 


54.45 


68.15 


5,679 


100.00 


15.58 


54.45 


70.03 


5,836 


110.00 


17.44 


54.45 


71.89 


5,991 


120.00 


19.32 


54.45 


73.77 


6,148 


130.00 


21.18 


54.45 


75.63 


6,302 


140.00 


23.06 


54.45 


77.51 


6,459 


150.00 


24.92 


54.45 


79.37 


6,614 



HAECKER FEEDING STANDARDS 



463 



HAECKER FEEDING STANDARDS AND METHODS 
FOR FORMULATING RATIONS FOR 
DAIRY COWS. 

(From Bulletin 130. Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.) 
Table I. Food of Maintenance. 



Weight 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


Weight 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


800 


.560 


5.60 


.08 


1225 


.857 


8.57 


.12 


825 


.577 


5.77 


.08 


1250 


.875 


8.75 


.12 


850 


.595 


5.95 


.08 


1275 


.892 


8.92 


.13 


875 


.612 


6.12 


.09 


1300 


.910 


9.10 


.13 


900 


.630 


6.30 


.09 


1325 


.927 


9.27 


.13 


925 


.647 


6.47 


.09 


1350 


.945 


9.45 


.13 


950 


.665 


6.65 


.09 


1375 


.962 


9.62 


.14 


975 


.682 


6.82 


.10 


1400 


.980 


9.80 


.14 


1000 


.700 


7.00 


.10 


1425 


.997 


9.97 


.14 


1025 


.717 


7.17 


.10 


1450 


1.015 


10.15 


.14 


1050 


.735 


7.35 


.10 


1475 


1.032 


10.32 


.15 


1075 


.752 


7.52 


.11 


1500 


1.050 


10.50 


.15 


1100 


.770 


7.70 


.11 


1525 


1.067 


10.67 


.15 


1125 


.787 


7.87 


.11 


1550 


1.085 


10.85 


.15 


1150 


.805 


8.05 


.11 


1575 


1.102 


11.02 


.16 


1175 


.822 


8.22 


.12 


1600 


1.120 


11.20 


.16 


1200 


.810 


8.40 


.12 


1625 


1.137 


11.36 


.16 



Table II. Net Nutrients Required for the Production of Milk Con- 
taining a Given Per Cent of Butter-fat. 





7o FAT IN MILK 


% FAT IN MILK 


% FAT IN MILK 


Lb.s. 
of 




3.0 




3.2 




3.4 


Milk 






















Pre. 


C-H. 


Fat 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


1 


.047 


.20 


.017 


.048 


.21 


.018 


.049 


.22 


.018 


2 


.094 


.40 




034 


.096 


.41 


.036 


.097 


.43 


.037 


3 


.141 


.60 




051 


.143 


.62 


.053 


.146 


.65 


.055 


4 


.188 


.80 




068 


.191 


.83 


.071 


.194 


.87 


.074 


5 


.234 


.99 




085 


.239 


1.04 


.089 


.243 


1.08 


.092 


6 


.281 


1.19 




102 


.287 


1.24 


.107 


.292 


1.30 


.111 


7 


.328 


1.39 




119 


.335 


1.45 


.125 


.340 


1.51 


.129 


8 


.375 


1..59 




136 


.382 


1.66 


.142 


.389 


1.73 


.148 


9 


.422 


1.79 




153 


.430 


1.87 


.160 


.437 


1.95 


.166 


10 


.469 


1.99 




170 


.478 


2.07 


.178 


.486 


2.16 


.185 



464 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Table 11. Net Nutrients Required for the Production of Milk Con- 
taining a Given Per Cent of Butter-fat. 



Lbs. 
of 


% FAT IN MILK 
3.6 


% FAT IN MILK 
3.8 


% FAT IN MILK 
4.0 


Milk 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 


.050 
.100 
.150 
.200 
.250 
.301 
.351 
.401 
.451 
.501 


.22 

.45 
.68 
.90 
1.13 
1.35 
1.58 
1.80 
2.03 
2.25 


.019 
.039 
.058 
.077 
.096 
.116 
.135 
.154 
.174 
.193 


.052 
.104 
.156 
.208 
.260 
.312 
.364 
.416 
.468 
.520 


.23 

.47 

.70 

.93 

1.17 

1.40 

1.64 

1.87 

2.10 

2.34 


.020 
.040 
.060 
.080 
.100 
.120 
.140 
.160 
.180 
.200 


.054 
.108 
.162 
.216 
.269 
.323 
.377 
.431 
.485 
.539 


.24 

.48 

.73 

.97 

1.21 

1.45 

1.70 

1.94 

2.18 

2.42 


.021 
.042 
.062 
.083 
.104 
.125 
.146 
.166 
.187 
.208 




i.Z 


4.4 


4.6 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 


.055 
.111 
.166 
.221 
.276 
.332 
.387 
.442 
.497 
.553 


.25 
.50 
.75 
1.00 
1.25 
1.50 
1.76 
2.01 
2.26 
2.51 


.021 
.043 
.064 
.086 
.107 
.129 
.150 
.172 
.193 
.215 


.056 
.113 
.169 
.226 
.282 
.339 
.395 
.452 
.508 
.565 


.26 
.52 
.78 
1.04 
1.30 
1.56 
1.82 
2.08 
2.34 
2.00 


.022 
.044 
.067 
.089 
.111 
.133 
.1.55 
.178 
.200 
.222 


.058 
.116 
.174 
.232 
.289 
.347 
.405 
.463 
.521 
.579 


.27 
.54 
.80 
1.07 
1.34 
1.61 
1.88 
2.14 
2.41 
2.68 


.023 
.046 
.069 
.092 
.115 
.138 
.161 
.184 
.207 
.230 




4.8 


5.0 


5.3 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 


.059 
.118 
.177 
.236 
.295 
.355 
.414 
.473 
.532 
.591 


.28 
.55 
.83 
1.11 
1.38 
1.66 
1.93 
2.21 
2.49 
2.76 


.024 
.047 
.071 
.094 
.118 
.142 
.165 
.189 
.212 
.236 


.060 
.121 
.181 
.242 
.302 
..362 
.423 
.483 
.544 
.604 


.28 
.57 
.85 
1.14 
1.42 
1.70 
1.99 
2.27 
2.56 
2.84 


.024 
.049 
.073 
.097 
.121 
.146 
.170 
.194 
.219 
.243 


.062 
.124 
.185 
.247 
.309 
.371 
.433 
.494 
.556 
.618 


.29 
.58 
.87 
1.17 
1.46 
1.75 
2.04 
2.33 
2.62 
2.91 


.025 
.050 
.075 
.100 
.125 
.150 
.175 
.200 
.225 
.250 



HAECKER FEEDING STANDARDS 



465 



Table II. Net Nutrients Required for the Production of Milk Con- 
taining a Given Per Cent of Butter-fat. 



Lb3. 

of 


% FAT IN MILK 
5.4 


% FAT IN MILK 
5.6 


% FAT IN MILK 

5.8 


Milk 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 


.063 
.126 
.190 
.253 
.316 
.379 
.442 
.506 
.569 
.632 


.30 
.60 
.90 
1.20 
1.49 
1.79 
2.09 
2.39 
2.69 
2.99 


.026 
.051 
.077 
.102 
.128 
.154 
.179 
.205 
.230 
.256 


.064 
.129 
.193 
.258 
.322 
.386 
.451 
.515 
.580 
.644 


.31 
.61 
.92 
1.23 
1.53 
1.84 
2.15 
2.45 
2.76 
3.07 


.026 
.053 
.079 
.105 
.131 
.158 
.184 
.210 
.237 
.263 


.066 
.131 
.197 
.262 
.328 
.394 
.4.59 
.525 
.590 
.656 


.31 
.63 
.94 
1.26 
1.57 
1.89 
2.20 
2.51 
2.83 
3.14 


.027 
.054 
.081 
.108 
.134 
.161 
.188 
.215 
.242 
.269 




6.0 


6.? 


G.4 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 


.067 
.134 
.200 
.267 
.334 
.401 
.468 
.534 
.601 
.668 


.32 
.64 
.97 
1.29 
1.61 
1.93 
2.25 
2.58 
2.90 
3.22 


.028 
.055 
.083 
.110 
.138 
.166 
.193 
.221 
.248 
.276 


.069 
.138 
.207 
.276 
.344 
.413 
.482 
.551 
.620 
.689 


.33 
.66 
.99 
1.32 
1.65 
1.98 
2.31 
2.64 
2.97 
3.30 


.028 
.057 
.085 
.113 
.141 
.170 
.198 
.226 
.255 
.283 


.071 
.142 
.213 
.284 
.355 
.426 
.497 
.568 
.639 
.710 


.34 
.67 
1.01 
1.35 
1.69 
2.03 
2.36 
2.70 
3.04 
3.38 


.029 
.053 
.087 
.116 
.144 
.173 
.202 
.231 
.260 
.289 



466 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Table III. 



Pounds of Dry Matter and Nutrients Contained in a 
Given Number of Pounds of Feed Stuff. 













CUBED 


ROUGHAGE 












Fodder Corn (Drilled) 


Corn Stover 


Sorglium Fodder 


Lbs. 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 

.76 


Digestible 


Lbs. 
1 


Dry 
Mat- 
ter 

.59 


Digestible 


Lbs. 

1 


Dry 
Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 




Pro. 


C-H 
.41 


Fat 
.015 


Pro. C-H 


Fat 


Pro. 
.024 


C-H 


Fat 


1 


.037 


.014 


.31 


.007 


.50 


.32 


.016 


2 


1.52 


.074 


.83 


.029 


2 


1.19 


.028 


.62 


.014 


2 


1.01 


.048 


.64 


.032 


3 


2.28 


.111 


1.24 


.044 


3 


1.78 


.042 


.94 


.021 


3 


1.51 


.072 


.96 


.048 


4 


3.04 


.148 


1.66 


.058 


4 


2.38 


.056 


1.25 


.028 


4 


2.01 


.096 


1.28 


.064 


5 


3.80 


.185 


2.07 


.073 


5 


2.97 


.070 


1.56 


.035 


5 


2.51 


.120 


1.60 


.080 


6 


4.56 


.222 


2.48 


.088 


6 


3.57 


.084 


1.87 


.042 


6 


3.02 


.144 


1.93 


.096 


7 


5.32 


.259 


2.90 


.102 


7 


4,16 


.098 


2.18 


.049 


7 


3.52 


.168 


2.25 


.112 


8 


6.08 


.296 


3.31 


.117 


8 


4.76 


.112 


2.50 


.056 


8 


4.02 


.192 


2.57 


.128 


9 


6.84 


.333 


3.73 


.131 


9 


5.35 


.126 


2.81 


.063 


9 


4.53 


.216 


2.89 


.144 


10 


7.60 


.370 


4.14 


.146 


10 


5.9S 


.140 


3.12 


.070 


10 


5.03 


.240 


3.21 


.160 


Millet 


Timothy 


Red Top 


1 


.86 


.050 


.47 


.011 


1 


.87 


.028 


.43 


.014 


1 


.91 


.048 


.47 


,010 


2 


1.72 


.100 


.94 


.022 


2 


1.74 


.056 


.87 


.028 


2 


1.82 


.096 


.94 


.020 


3 


2.58 


.150 


1.41 


.033 


3 


2.60 


.084 


1.30 


.042 


3 


2.73 


.144 


1.41 


.030 


4 


3.44 


.200 


1.88 


.044 


4 


3.47 


.112 


1.74 


.056 


4 


3.64 


.192 


1.88 


.040 


5 


4.30 


.250 


2.34 


.055 


5 


4.34 


.140 


2.17 


.070 


5 


4.55 


.240 


2.34 


.050 


6 


5.16 


.300 


2.81 


.066 


6 


5.21 


.168 


2.60 


.084 


6 


5.47 


.288 


2 81 


.060 


7 


6.02 


.350 


3.28 


.077 


7 


6,08 


.196 


3.04 


.098 


7 


6.38 


.336 


3.28 


.070 


8 


6.88 


.400 


3.75 


.088 


8 


6.94 


.224 


3.47 


.112 


8 


7.29 


.384 


3.75 


.080 


9 


7.74 


.450 


4.22 


.099 


9 


7.81 


.252 


3.91 


.120 


9 


8.20 


.432 


4.22 


.090 


10 


8.60 


.500 


4.69 


.110 


10 


8.68 


.280 


4.34 


.140 


10 


9,11 


.480 


4.69 


.100 


Prairie (Upland) 


Prairie (Mixed) 


Prairie (Swale) 


1 


.87 


.03 


.42 


.014 


1 


.84 


.029 


.41 


.012 


1 


.86 


.026 


.42 


.011 


2 


1.75 


.06 


.84 


.028 


2 


1.62 


.058 


.83 


.024 


2 


1,73 


.052 


.84 


.022 


3 


2.62 


.09 


1.25 


.042 


3 


2.52 


.087 


1.24 


.036 


3 


2,59 


.078 


1,26 


.033 


4 


3.50 


.12 


1.67 


.056 


4 


3.36 


.116 


1.66 


.048 


4 


3,45 


.104 


1.68 


.044 


6 


4.37 


.15 


2.09 


.070 


5 


4.20 


.145 


2.07 


.060 


5 


4.31 


.130 


2.09 


.055 


6 


5.25 


.18 


2.51 


.084 


6 


5.05 


.174 


2.49 


.072 


6 


5.18 


.156 


2.51 


.066 


7 


6.12 


.21 


2.93 


.098 


7 


5.89 


.203 


2.90 


.084 


7 


6.04 


.182 


2.93 


.077 


8 


7.00 


.24 


3.34 


.112 


8 


6.73 


.232 


3.32 


.096 


8 


6.90 


.208 


3.35 


.088 


9 


7.87 


.27 


3.76 


.126 


9 


7.57 


.261 


3.73 


.108 


9 


7.77 


.234 


3.77 


.099 


10 


8.75 


.30 


4.18 


.140 


10 


8.41 


.290 


4.15 


.120 


10 


8.63 


.260 


4.19 


.110 


Barley 


Oat 


Pea 


1 


.85 


.057 


.44 


.01 


1 


.86 


.047 


.37 


.017 


1 


.90 


.080 


.41 


.017 


2 


1.70 


.114 


.87 


.02! 


2 


1.72 


.094 


.73 


.034 


2 


1.80 


.160 


.82 


.034 


3 


2.55 


.171 


1.31 


.03' 


3 


2.. 58 


.141 


1.10 


.051 


3 


2.71 


.240 


1.23 


.051 


4 


3.40 


.228 


1.74 


.04 


4 


3.44 


.188 


1.47 


.068 


4 


3.61 


.320 


1.64 


.068 


5 


4.25 


.285 


2.18 


.05 


5 


4.30 


.235 


1.83 


.085 


5 


4,51 


.400 


2.05 


.085 


6 


6.10 


.342 


2.62 


.06 


6 


5.16 


.282 


2.20 


.102 





5,41 


.480 


2.47 


.102 


7 


5.95 


.399 


3.05 


.07 


7 


6.02 


.329 


2.57 


.119 


7 


6,31 


.560 


2.88 


.119 


8 


6.80 


.456 


3.49 


.08 


8 


6.88 


.376 


2.94 


.136 


8 


7 22 


.640 


3.29 


.136 


9 


7.65 


.513 


3.92 


.09 


9 


7.74 


.423 


3.30 


.153 


9 


8^12 


.720 


3.70 


.153 


10 


8.50 


.570 


4.36 


.10 


10 


8.60 


.470 


3.67 


.170 


10 


9,02 


.800 


4.11 


.170 



HAECKER FEEDING STANDARDS 



467 



Table III. Pounds of Dry Matter and Nutrients Contained in a 
Given Number of Pounds of Feed Stuff. 



Cow Pea 


Soy Bean 


White Clover 


T.bs 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 


Lbs 


Dry 
Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 


Lbs. 
1 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 

.90 


Digestible 




Pro. 


C-H 


Fat 


Pro. 


]C-H 


Fat 


Pro 


C-H 


Fat 


1 


.89 


.058 


.39 


.013 


1 


.88 


.106 


.41 


.012 


.11^ 


.42 


.015 


2 


1.7t 


.116 


.78 


.026 


2 


1.76 


.212 


.82 


.024 


2 


1.81 


.2301 .84 


.030 


3 


2.t)8 


.17.^ 


1.18 


.039 


3 


2.65 


.318 


1.23 


.036 


3 


2.71 


.34; 


1.27 


.045 


4 


3.58 


.232 


1.57 


.052 


4 


3.5a 


A24 


1.64 


.048 


4 


3.61 


.46f 


1.69 


.060 


5 


4.47 


.29C 


1.9( 


.065 


5 


4.41 


.53( 


2.04 


.060 


5 


4.51 


.57f 


2.11 


.075 


6 


5.37 


.348 


2.36 


.078 


6 


5.29 


.636 


2.45 


.072 


6 


5.42 


.69f 


2.53 


.090 


7 


6.26 


.406 


2.75 


.091 


7 


6.17 


.742 


2.86 


.084 


7 


6.32 


.80,^^ 


2.95 


.105 


8 


7.16 


.464 


3.H 


.104 


8 


7.06 


.848 


3.27 


.096 


8 


7.22 


.92f 


3.38 


.120 


9 


8.05 


.522 


3.5-1 


.117 


7 


7.94 


.9.54 


3.68 


.108 


9 


S.13 


1 m;^ 


3 80 


.135 


10 


8.95 


.580 


3.93 


.130 


10 


8.82 


1.060 


4.09 


.120 


10 


9.03 


1.15f 


4.22 


.150 


Red Clover 


Alsike Clover 


Alfalfa 


1 


.85 


.071 


.38 


.018 


1 


.90 


.084 


.42 


.015 


1 


.94 


.117 


.41 


.01 


2 


1.69 


.142 


.76 


.036 


2 


1.81 


.168 


.85 


.030 


2 


1.87 


.234 


.82 


.02 


3 


2.54 


.213 


1.13 


.054 


3 


2.71 


.252 


1.27 


.045 


3 


2.81 


.351 


1.23 


.03 


4 


3.39 


.284 


1.51 


.072 


4 


3.61 


.336 


1.70 


.060 


4 


3.74 


.467 


1.64 


.04 


5 


4.23 


.355 


1.89 


.090 


5 


4.51 


.420 


2.12 


.075 


5 


4.68 


..585 


2.04 


.05 


6 


5.08 


.426 


2.27 


.108 


6 


5.42 


.504 


2.55 


.090 


6 


5.62 


.702 


2.45 


.06 


7 


5.93 


.497 


2.65 


.128 


7 


6.32 


.588 


2.97 


.105 


7 


6.55 


.819 


2.86 


.07 


8 


6.78 


.568 


3.02 


.144 


8 


7.22 


.672 


3.40 


.120 


8 


7.49 


.936 


3.27 


.08 


9 


7.62 


.639 


3.40 


.162 


9 


8.13 


.756 


3.82 


.135 


9 


8.42 


1.053 


3.68 


.09 


10 


8.47 


.710 


3.78 


.180 


10 


9.03 


.840 


4.25 


.150 


10 


9.36 


1.170 


4.09 


.10 


Wheat Straw 


Oat Straw 


Barley Straw 


1 


.90 


.008 


.35 


.004 


1 


.91 


.013 


.39 


.008 


1 


.86 


.009 


.40 


.006 


2 


1.81 


.016 


.70 


.008 


2 


1.82 


.026 


.79 


.016 


2 


1.72 


.018 


.80 


.012 


H 


2.71 


.024 


1.06 


.012 


3 


2.72 


.039 


1.18 


.024 


3 


2.57 


.027 


1.20 


.018 


4 


3.63 


.032 


1.41 


.016 


4 


3.63 


.052 


1..58 


.032 


4 


3.43 


.036 


1.60 


.024 


5 


4.52 


.040 


1.76 


.020 


5 


4.54 


.065 


1.97 


.040 


5 


4.29 


.045 


2.00 


.030 


() 


5.42 


.048 


2.11 


.024 


6 


5.45 


.078 


2.37 


.048 


6 


5.15 


.054 


2.41 


.036 


7 


6.33 


.056 


2.46 


.028 


7 


6.36 


.091 


2.76 


.056 


7 


6.01 


.063 


2.81 


.042 


8 


7.23 


.064 


2.82 


.032 


8 


7.26 


.104 


3.16 


.064 


8 


6.86 


.072 


3.21 


.048 


9 


8.14 


.072 


3.17 


.036 


9 


8.17 


.117 


3.55 


.072 


9 


7.72 


.081 


3.61 


.054 


10 


9.04 


.080 


3.52 


.040 


10 


9.08 


.130 


3.95 


.080 


10 


8.58 


.090 


4.01 


.060 


Kafir Forage 


Oat and Pea 


Oat and Vetch 


1 


.48 


.009 


.26 


.011 


1 


.89 


.076 


.41 


.015 


1 


.85 


.083 


.36 


.013 


2 


.96 


.019 


.52 


.022 


2 


1.79 


.152 


.83 


.030 


2 


1.70 


.166 


.72 


.026 


3 


1.44 


.028 


.78 


.033 


3 


2.68 


.228 


1.24 


.045 


3 


2.55 


.249 


1.07 


.039 


4 


1.92 


.038 


1.04 


.044 


4 


3.58 


.304 


1.66 


.060 


4 


3.40 


.332 


1.43 


.052 


5 


2.39 


.047 


1.29 


.055 


5 


4.47 


.380 


2.07 


.075 


5 


4 25 


.415 


1.79 


.065 


6 


2.87 


.057 


1.55 


.066 


6 


5.37 


.456 


2.49 


.090 


6 


5.10 


.498 


2.15 


.078 


7 


3.35 


.066 


1.81 


.077 


7 


6.26 


.532 


2.90 


.105 


7 


5.95 


.581 


2.51 


.091 


8 


3.83 


.076 


2.07 


.088 


8 


7.16 


.608 


3.32 


.120 


8 


6.80 


.664 


2.86 


.104 


9 


4.31 


.085 


2.33 


.093 


9 


8.05 


.684 


3.73 


.135 


9 


7.65 


.747 


3.22 


.117 


10 


4.79 


.095 


2.59 


.110 


10 


8.95 


.760 


4.15 


.150 


10 


8.50 


.830 


3.58 


.130 



468 



FIELD MANAGEMEl^T AND CROP ROTATION 



Table III. Pounds of Dry Matter and Nutrients Contained in a 
Given Number of Pounds of Feed Stuff. 



SILAGE 



Corn Silage 


Sorghum Silage 


Lbs. 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 

.26 


Digestible 


Lbs. 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 




Pro. 
.012 


C-H 
.14 


Fat 
.007- 


Pro. 


C-H 


Fat 


1 


1 


.24 


.001 


.13 


.002 


2 


.53 


.025 


.28 


.014 


2 


.48 


.002 


.27 


.004 


3 


.79 


.037 


.43 


.021 


3 


.72 


.003 


.40 


.006 


4 


1.06 


.050 


.57 


.028 


4 


.96 


.004 


.54 


008 


5 


1.32 


.062 


.71 


.035 


5 


1.19 


.005 


.67 


.010 


6 


1.58 


.075 


.85 


.042 


6 


1.43 


.006 


.81 


.012 


7 


1.85 


.087 


.99 


.049 


7 


1.67 


.007 


.94 


.014 


8 


2.11 


.100 


1.14 


.056 


8 


1.91 


.008 


1.08 


.016 


9 


2.38 


.112 


1.28 


.063 


9 


2.15 


.009 


1.21 


.018 


10 


2.64 


.125 


1.42 


.070 


10 


^.39 


.010 


1.35 


.020 


Clover Silage 


Alfalfa Silage 


1 


.28 


.020 


.13 


.010 


1 


.27 


.030 


.08 


.019 


2 


.56 


.040 


.27 


.020 


2 


.55 


.060 


.17 


.038 


3 


.84 


.060 


.40 


.030 


3 


.82 


.090 


.25 


.057 


4 


1.12 


.080 


.54 


.040 


4 


1.10 


.120 


.34 


.076 


5 


1.40 


.100 


.67 


.050 


5 


1.37 


.150 


.42 


.095 


6 


1.68 


.120 


.81 


.060 


6 


1.65 


.180 


.51 


.114 


7 


1.96 


.140 


.94 


.070 


7 


1.92 


.210 


.59 


.133 


8 


2.24 


.160 


1.08 


.080 


8 


2.20 


.240 


.68 


.152 


9 


2.52 


.ISO 


1.21 


.090 


9 


2.47 


.270 


.76 


.171 


10 


2.80 


.200 


1.35 


.100 


10 


2.75 


.300 


.85 


.190 


Cow Pea Silage 


Soy Bean Silage 


1 


.21 


.015 


.09 


.009 


1 


.26 


.027 


.09 


.013 


2 


.41 


.030 


.17 


.018 


2 


.52 


.054 


.17 


.026 


3 


.62 


.045 


.26 


.027 


3 


.77 


.081 


.26 


.039 


4 


.83 


.060 


.34 


.036 


4 


1.03 


.108 


.35 


.052 


5 


1.03 


.075 


.43 


.045 


5 


1.29 


.135 


.43 


.065 


6 


1.24 


.090 


.52 


.054 


6 


1.55 


.162 


.52 


.078 


7 


1.45 


.105 


.60 


.063 


7 


1.81 


.189 


.61 


.091 


8 


1.66 


.120 


.69 


.072 


8 


2.06 


.216 


.70 


.104 


9 


1.86 


.135 


.77 


.081 


9 


2.32 


.243 


.78 


.117 


10 


2.07 


.150 


.86 


.090 


10 


2.58 


.270 


.87 


.130 




Pea Cannery 






Corn Cannery 






Refuse 






Refuse 




1 


.23 


.021 


.13 


.008 


1 


.21 


.003 


.12 


.006 


2 


.46 


.042 


.26 


.016 


2 


.42 


.006 


.24 


.012 


3 


.70 


.063 


.39 


.024 


3 


.63 


.009 


.36 


.018 


4 


.93 


.084 


.52 


.032 


4 


.84 


.012 


.48 


.024 


5 


1.16 


.105 


.65 


.040 


5 


1.05 


.015 


.59 


.030 


6 


1.39 


.126 


.fQ 


.048 


6 


1.26 


.018 


.71 


.036 


7 


1.62 


.147 


.92 


.056 


7 


1.47 


.021 


.83 


.042 


8 


1.86 


.168 


1.05 


.064 


8 


1.68 


.024 


.95 


.048 


9 


2.09 


.189 


1.18 


.072 


9 


1.89 


.027 


1.07 


.054 


10 


2.32 


.210 


1.31 


.080 


10 


2.10 


.030 


1.19 


.060 



HAECKER FEEDU^G STANDARDS 



469 



Table III. Pounds of Dry Matter and Nutrients Contained in 
a Given Number of Pounds of Feed Stuff. 



ROOTS AND TUBERS 



Carrot 


Potato 


Lbs. 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 


Lbs. 
1 


Drv 

Mat- 
ter 

.21 


Digestible 




Pro. 


C-H 


Fat 


Pro. 


C-H 


Fat 


1 


.11 


.008 


.08 


.002 


.011 


.16 


.001 


2 


.23 


.016 


.16 


.004 


2 


.42 


.022 


.31 


.002 


3 


.34 


.024 


.23 


.006 


3 


.63 


.033 


.47 


.003 


4 


.46 


.032 


.31 


.008 


4 


.84 


.044 


.63 


.004 


5 


.57 


.040 


.39 


.010 


5 


1.04 


.055 


.78 


.005 


6 


.68 


.048 


.47 


.012 


6 


1.25 


.066 


.94 


.006 


7 


.80 


.056 


.55 


.114 


7 


1.46 


.077 


1.10 


.007 


8 


.91 


.064 


.62 


.016 


8 


1.67 


.088 


1.26 


.008 


9 


1.03 


.072 


.70 


.018 


9 


1.88 


.099 


1.41 


.009 


10 


1.14 


.080 


.80 


.020 


10 


2.09 


.110 


1.57 


.010 


Sugar Beet 


Common Beet 


1 


.13 


.013 


.10 


.001 


1 


.11 


.012 


.08 


.001 


2 


.27 


.026 - 


.20 


.002 


2 


.23 


.024 


.16 


.002 


3 


.40 


.039 


.29 


.003 


3 


.34 


.036 


.24 


.003 


4 


.54 


.052 


.39 


.004 


4 


.46 


.048 


.32 


.004 


5 


.67 


.065 


.49 


.005 


5 


.57 


.060 


.39 


.005 


6 


.81 


.078 


.59 


.006 


6 


.69 


.072 


.47 


.006 


7 


.94 


.091 


.69 


.007 


7 


.80 


.084 


.55 


.007 


8 


1.08 


.104 


.78 


.008 


8 


.92 


.096 


.63 


.008 


9 


1.21 


.117 


.88 


.009 


9 


1.03 


.108 


.71 


.009 


10 


1.35 


.130 


.98 


.010 


10 


1.15 


.120 


.79 


.010 


Mange 


Rutabaga 


1 


.09 


.010 


.05 


.002 


1 


.11 


.010 


.08 


.002 


2 


.18 


.020 


.11 


.004 


2 


.23 


.020 


.16 


.004 


3 


.27 


.030 


.16 


.006 


3 


.34 


.030 


.24 


.006 


4 


.36 


.040 


.22 


.008 


4 


.46 


.040 


.32 


.008 


5 


.45 


.050 


.27 


.010 


5 


.57 


.050 


.40 


.010 


6 


.55 


.060 


.33 


.012 


6 


.68 


.060 


.49 


.012 


7 


.64 


.070 


.38 


.014 


7 


.80 


.070 


.57 


.014 


8 


.73 


.080 


.44 


.016 


8 


.91 


.080 


.65 


.016 


9 


.82 


.090 


.49 


.018 


9 


1.03 


.090 


.73 


.018 


10 


.91 


.100 


.55 


.020 


10 


1.14 


.100 


.81 


.020 


Flat Turnip 


Wet Beet Pulp 


1 


.10 


.009 


.06 


.001 


1 


.10 


.005 


.08 


.000 


2 


.20 


.018 


.13 


.002 


2 


.20 


.010 


.15 


.000 


3 


.30 


.027 


.19 


.003 


3 


.31 


.015 


.23 


.000 


4 


.40 


.036 


.26 


.004 


4 


.41 


.020 


.31 


.000 


5 


.49 


.045 


.32 


.005 


5 


.51 


.025 


.38 


.000 


6 


.59 


.054 


.38 


.006 


6 


.61 


.030 


.46 


.000 


7 


.69 


.063 


.45 


.007 


7 


.71 


.035 


.54 


.000 


8 


.79 


.072 


.51 


.008 


8 


.82 


.040 


.62 


.000 


9 


.89 


.081 


.58 


.009 


d 


.92 


.045 


.69 


.000 


10 


.99 


.090 


.64 


.010 


10 


1.02 


.050 


.77 


.000 



470 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Table III. Pounds of Dry Matter and Nutrients Contained in 
a Given Number of Pounds of Feed Stuff. 



CONCENTRATES— Ground Grains and By-Products 



Corn 


Barley 


Lbs. 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 


Lbs. 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 




Pro. 


C-H . 


Fat 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


1 


.89 


.079 


.67 


.043 


1 


.89 


.084 


.65 


.016 


2 


1.78 


.158 


1.33 


.086 


2 


1.78 


.168 


1.31 


.032 


3 


2.67 


.237 


2.01 


.129 


3 


2.68 


.252 


1.96 


.048 


4 


3.56 


.316 


2.67 


.172 


4 


3.57 


.336 


2.61 


.064 


5 


4.45 


.395 


3.33 


.215 


5 


4.46 


.420 


3.26 


.080 


6 


5.35 


.474 


4.00 


.258 


6 


5.35 


.504 


3.92 


.096 


7 


6.24 


.553 


4.67 


.301 


7 


6.24 


.588 


4.57 


.112 


8 


7.13 


.632 


5.34 


.344 


8 


7.14 


.672 


5.22 


.128 


9 


8.02 


.711 


6.00 


.387 


9 


8.03 


.756 


5.88 


.144 


10 


8.91 


.790 


6.67 


.430 


10 


8.92 


.840 


6.53 


.160 


Oats 


Wheat 


1 


.90 


.107 


.50 


.038 


1 


.89 


.088 


.67 


.015 


2 


1.79 


.214 


1.01 


.076 


2 


1.79 


.176 


1.35 


.030 


3 


2.69 


.321 


1.51 


.114 


3 


2.68 


.264 


2.02 


.045 


4 


3.58 


.428 


2.01 


.152 


4 


3.58 


.352 


2.70 


.060 


5 


4.48 


.535 


2.51 


.190 


5 


4.47 


.440 


3.37 


.075 


6 


6.38 


.642 


3.19 


.228 


6 


5.37 


.528 


4.05 


.090 


7 


6.27 


.749 


3.52 


.266 


7 


6.26 


.616 


4.72 


.105 


8 


7.17 


.856 


4.02 


.304 


8 


7.16 


.704 


5.40 ' 


.120 


9 


8.06 


.963 


4.53 


.342 


9 


8.05 


.792 


6.07 


.135 


10 


8.96 


1.070 


5.03 


.380 


10 


8.95 


.880 


6.75 


.150 


Wheat Bran 




Flo 


ur Whea 
dling 


tMid- 

s 




1 


.88 


.119 


.42 


.025 


1 


.90 


.17 


.54 


.041 


2 


1.76 


.238 


.84 


.050 


2 


1.80 


.34 


1.07 


.082 


3 


2.64 


.357 


1.26 


.075 


3 


2.70 


.51 


1.61 


.123 


4 


3.52 


.476 


1.68 


.100 


4 


3.60 


.68 


2.14 


.164 


5 


4.40 


.595 


2.10 


.125 


5 


4.50 


.84 


2.68 


.205 


6 


5.29 


.714 


2.52 


.150 


6 


5.40 


1.01 


3.22 


.246 


7 


6.17 


.833 


2.94 


.175 


7 


6.30 


1.18 


3.75 


.287 


8 


7.05 


.952 


3.36 


.200 


8 


7.20 


1.35 


4.29 


.328 


9 


7.93 


1.071 


3.78 


.225 


9 


8.40 


1.52 


4.82 


.369 


10 


8.81 


1.190 


4.20 


.250 


10 


9.00 


1.69 


5.36 


.410 


Wheat Sorts 




I 


ted Dog 


Flour 




1 


.89 


.130 


.40 


.045 


1 


.90 


.162 


.57 


.034 


2 


1.78 


.260 


.91 


.090 


2 


1.80 


.324 


1.14 


.068 


3 


2.66 


.390 


1.37 


.135 


3 


2.70 


.486 


1.71 


.102 


4 


3.55 


.520 


1.83 


.180 


4 


3.60 


.658 


2.28 


.136 


5 


4.44 


.650 


2.28 


.225 


5 


4.50 


.810 


285 


.170 


6 


5.33 


.780 


2.74 


.270 


6 


5.41 


.972 


3.42 


.204 


7 


6.22 


.910 


3.20 


.315 


7 


6.31 


1.134 


3.99 


.238 


8 


7.10 


1.040 


3.66 


.360 


8 


7.21 


1.296 


4.56 


.272 


9 


7.99 


1.170 


4.11 


.405 


9 


8.11 


1.458 


5.13 


.306 


10 


8.88 


1.300 


4.57 


.450 


10 


9.01 


1.620 


5.70 


.340 



HAECKER FEEDING STANDARDS 



471 



Table III. 



Pounds of Dry Matter and Nutrients Contained in a 
Given Nxunber of Pounds of Feed Stuff. 









CONCENTRATES— 


(Cont'd) 






Emmer (Speltz) 


Corn and Cob Meal 


Lbs. 


Dry 
Mat- 
ter 


Digestibl 


e 


Lbs. 
1 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 




Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


1 


.92 


.10 


.70 


.02 


.85 


.044 


.60 


.029 


2 


1.84 


.20 


1.41 


.04 


2 


1.70 


.088 


1.20 


.058 


3 


2.76 


.30 


2.11 


.06 


3 


2.55 


.132 


1.80 


.087 


4 


3.68 


.40 


2.81 


.08 


4 


3.40 


.176 


2.40 


.116 


5 


4.60 


.50 


3.51 


.10 


5 


4.24 


.220 


3.00 


.145 


6 


5.52 


.60 


4.22 


.12 


6 


5.09 


.264 


3.60 


.174 


7 


6.44 


.70 


4.92 


.14 


7 


5.94 


.308 


4.20 


.203 


8 


7.36 


.80 


5.62 


.16 


8 


6.79 


.352 


4.80 


.232 


9 


8.28 


.90 


6.33 


.18 


9 


7.64 


.396 


5.40 


.261 


10 


9.20 


1.00 


7.03 


.20 


10 


8.49 


.440 


6.00 


.290 


Kafir Corn 


Sorghum Seed 


1 


.90 


0.52 


.44 


.014 


1 


.87 


.045 


.61 


.028 


2 


1.80 


.104 


.89 


.028 


2 


1.74 


.090 


1.22 


.056 


3 


2.70 


.156 


1.33 


.042 


3 


2.62 


.135 


1.83 


.084 


4 


3.60 


.208 


1.77 


.056 


4 


3.49 


.180 


2.44 


.112 


5 


4.50 


.260 


2.21 


.070 


.5 


4.36 


.225 


3.05 


.140 


6 


5.41 


.312 


2.66 


.084 


6 


5.23 


.270 


3.67 


.168 


7 


6.31 


.364 


3.10 


.098 


7 


6.10 


.315 


4.28 


.196 


8 


7.21 


.416 


3.54 


.112 


8 


6.98 


.360 


4.89 


.224 


9 


8.11 


.468 


3.99 


.126 


9 


7.85 


.405 


5.50 


.252 


10 


9.01 


.520 


4.43 


.140 


10 


8.72 


.450 


6.11 


.280 


Buckwheat Bran 


Buckwheat Mid- 
dlings 


1 


.92 


.059 


.34 


.02 


1 


.87 


.227 


.37 


.061 


2 


1.84 


.118 


.68 


.04 


2 


1.74 


.454 


.75 


.122 


3 


2.75 


.177 


1.02 


.06 


3 


2.62 


.681 


1.12 


.183 


4 


3.67 


.236 


1.36 


.08 


4 


3.49 


.908 


1.50 


.244 


5 


4.59 


.295 


1.70 


.10 


5 


4.36 


1.135 


1.87 


.305 


6 


5.51 


.354 


2.04 


.12 


6 


5.23 


1.362 


2.25 


.366 


7 


6.43 


.413 


2.34 


.14 • 


7 


6.10 


1.589 


2.62 


.427 


8 


7.34 


.472 


2.72 


.16 


8 


6.98 


1.816 


3.00 


.488 


9 


8.26 


.531 


3.06 


.18 


9 


7.85 


2.043 


3.37 


.549 


10 


9.18 


.590 


3.40 


.20 


10 


8.72 


2.270 


3.75 


.610 


Rye Bran 


Rye Middlings 


1 


.88 


.112 


.47 


.018 


1 


.88 


.110 


.53 


.026 


2 


1.77 


.224 


.94 


.036 


2 


1.76 


.220 


1.06 


.052 


3 


2.65 


.336 


1.40 


.054 


3 


2.65 


.330 


1.59 


.078 


4 


3.54 


.448 


1.87 


.072 


4 


3.53 


.440 


2.12 


.104 


5 


4.42 


.560 


2.34 


.090 


5 


4.41 


.550 


2.64 


.130 



4?2 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Table III. 



Pounds of Dry Matter and Nutrients Contained in a 
Given Number of Pounds of Feed Stuff. 



CONCENTRATES— (Cont'd) 



Millet 


Hominy Feed 


Lbs. 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 


Lbs. 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 




Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


Pro. 


C-H 


Fat 


1 


.88 


.071 


.48 


.025 


1 


.90 


.068 


.60 


.074 


?. 


1.76 


.142 


.97 


.050 


2 


1.81 


.136 


1.21 


.148 


3 


2.64 


.213 


1.45 


.075 


3 


2.71 


.204 


1.81 


.222 


4 


3.52 


.284 . 


1.94 


.100 


4 


3.62 


.27? 


2.42 


.296 


5 


4.39 


.355 


2.42 


.125 


5 


4.52 


.340 


3.02 


.370 


Corn Oil Meal 


Bean Meal 


1 


.91 


.158 


.39 


.108 


1 


.89 


.202 


.42 


.013 


9. 


1.83 


.316 


.78 


.216 


2 


1.78 


.404 


.85 


.026 


3 


2.74 


.474 


1.16 


.324 


3 


2.67 


.606 


1.27 


.039 


4 


3.66 


.632 


1.55 


.432 


4 


3.56 


.808 


1.69 


.052 


5 


4.57 


.790 


1.94 


.540 


5 


4.45 


1.010 


2.11 


.065 


Cow Pea Meal 


Soy Bean Meal 


1 


.85 


.168 


.55 


.011 


1 


.88 


.291 


.23 


.146 


9. 


1.71 


.336 


1.10 


.022 


2 


1.77 


.582 


.47 


.292 


3 


2.56 


.504 


1.65 


.033 


3 


2.65 


.873 


.70 


.438 


4 


3.42 


.672 


2.20 


.044 


4 


3.53 


1.164 


.93 


.584 


5 


4.27 


.840 2.74 


.055 


5 


4.41 


1.455 


1.16 


.730 


Gluten Feed 


Gluten Meal 


1 


.91 


.213 


.53 


029 


1 


.90 


.297 


.42 


.061 


?, 


1.82 


.426 


1.06 


.058 


2 


1.81 


.594 


.85 


.122 


3 


2.72 


.639 


1.58 


.087 


3 


2.71 


.891 


1.27 


.183 


4 


3.63 


.852 


2.11 


.116 


4 


3.62 


1.188 


1.70 


.244 


5 


4.. 54 


1.065 


2.64 


.145 


5 


4.52 1.485 


2.12 


.305 


Linseed Meal 


Cotton-seed Meal 


1 


.90 


.302 


.32 


.069 


1 


.93 


.376 


.21 


.096 


?, 


1.80 


.604 


.64 


.138 


2 


1.86 


.752 


.43 


.192 


3 


2.71 


.906 


.96 


.207 


3 


2.79 


1.128 


.64 


.288 


4 


3.61 


1.208 


1.28 


.276 


4 


3.72 


1.504 


.86 


.384 


5 


4.51 


1.510 


1.60 


.345 


5 


4.65 


1.880 


1.07 


.480 


Flax Seed 


Tankage 


1 


.91 


.206 1 .17 1 


.290 


1 


.930 


.501 


.00 


.116 


? 


1.82 


.412 


.34 


.580 


2 


1.860 


1.002 


.00 


.232 


3 


2.72 


.618 


.51 


.870 


3 


2.790 


1.503 


.00 


.348 


4 


3.63 


.824 


.68 


1.160 


4 


3.720 


2.004 


.00 


.464 


5 


4.54 


1.030 


.85 


1.450 


5 


4.650 


2.505 


.00 


.580 



HAECKER FEEDING STANDARDS 



473 



Table III. 



Pounds of Dry Matter and Nutrients Contained in a 
Given Number of Pounds of Feed Stuff. 



CONCENTRATES— (Cont'd) 



wers' Grain 
(Dried) 


Malt Sprouts 


T,hs 


Drv 

Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 


Lbs. 


Dry 

Mat- 
ter 


Digestible 




Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


Pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


1 
2 
3 
4 

5 


.91 
1.83 
2.74 
3.65 
4.56 


.200 
.400 
.600 
.800 
1.000 


.32 

.64 

.97 

1.29 

1.61 


.060 
.120 
.180 
.240 
.300 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 


.90 
1.81 
2.71 
3.62 
4.52 


.203 
.406 
.609 
.812 
1.015 


.46 

.92 

1.38 

1.84 

2.30 


.014 
.028 
.042 
.056 
.070 


Distillery Grain 
(Dried) 


Dried Beet Pulp 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 


.92 
1.85 

2.77 
3.70 
4.62 


.228 
.456 
.684 
.912 
1.140 


.40 

.79 

1,19 

1.59 

1.98 


.116 
.232 
.348 
.464 

.580 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 


.92 
1.82 
2.75 
3.66 
4.58 


.041 
.082 
.123 
.164 

.205 


.65 
1.30 
1.95 
2.60 
3.24 


.000 
.000 
.000 
.000 
.000 



How to Formulate a Balanced Ration. The term "bal- 
anced ration" means a combination of foods containing 
such amounts of protein (organic matter containing nitro- 
gen), carbohydrates (nitrogen free material), and fat, as are 
known to be necessary for the maintenance of the animal 
body and the production of work, milk, or fatty tissues. All 
dairy cows should not be fed the same ration, because their 
requirements for food are very variable. Differences in 
weight and flow of milk should be considered in preparing 
their daily food rations. It is unreasonable to think that a 
1,400 pound cow giving fifty pounds of milk daily should 
receive the same ration as a 1,000 pound cow giving twenty 
pounds of milk daily. The requirements of one cow are 
greater than those of the other and should be considered 
in feeding. Profitable feeding of dairy cows demands that 
records of milk flow be taken for each cow in the herd, and 
also that the weights of the cows be known. Such data are 
necessary to successful feeding methods. 



474 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



The computing of a balanced ration for a dairy cow is 
accomplished as follows: In case of a 1,200 pound cow yield- 
ing 40 pounds of 3.6% milk daily, the daily nutrient require- 
ments for maintenance and milk production are totaled 
from the data given in Tables I and II. 





Pro. 
Lbs. 


C-H. 

Lbs. 


Fat 
Lbs. 


For maintenance of a 1200 pound cow 

For production of 40 lbs. 3.6% milk . . 


.840 
2.004 


8.40 
9.00 


.120 

.772 






Total nutrients required daily 


2.844 


17.40 


.892 







The next step is to refer to Table III and to compound 
a mixture of roughage and grain feeds that will approximately 
meet the known nutrient requirements of the cow, using 
farm, grown feeds as much as possible to reduce the cost of 
the ration to a minimum. In making up trial rations to get 
the desired balanced ration, the necessary amount of rough- 
age may be estimated at the rate of two pounds of hay, or 
its equivalent, for each 100 lbs. of the cow's weight, and one 
pound of grain for each three pounds of milk yield. When 
silage is fed, the rule may be to feed one pound of hay and 
three pounds of silage per hundredweight, and the balance 
of the required nutrients should be provided in. concentrates, 
except that, when roots are fed, they will take the place 
of a part of the grain at the rate of ten pounds of roots 
for one pound of grain. These directions are general and 
should be used only as a guide in making out trial rations 
to compare with the known amounts of nutrients required. 
In feeding practice it will be found that spare, big bodied 
cows will take relatively more roughage. 

Three rations are shown herewith that will meet the 
nutrient requirements of a 1,200 lb. cow yielding 40 lbs. of 
3.6% milk daily: 



HAECKER FEEDING STANDARDS 



475 



Ration No. 1 



Kind of Feed 



Timothy hay 

Ground oats. . . . 

Wheat bran 

Wheat middUngs. 
Linseed meal .... 



Nutrients provided . 



Feed 
Lbs. 



24 
6 
4 
2 

2H 



Protein 
Lbs. 



.672 

.642 
.476 
.340 
.755 



2.885 



C-H. 

Lbs. 



10.42 

3.19 

1.68 

1.07 

.80 



17.16 



Fat 
Lbs. 



.336 

.228 
.100 
.082 
.172 



.918 



Ration No. 2 



[ind of Feed 



Clover hay . . 

Mangels 

Ground corn. 
Ground oats . 



Nutrients provided . 



Feed 
Lbs. 



22 
30 



Protein 
Lbs. 



1.562 
.300 
.632 

.428 



2.922 



C-H. 
Lbs. 



8.32 
1.65 
5.34 
2.01 



17.32 



Fat 
Lbs. 



.396 
.060 
.344 
.152 



.952 



Ration ] 


^0. 3 








Kind of Feed 


teed 
Lbs. 


Protein 
Lbs. 


C-H. 

Lbs. 


Fat 
Lbs. 


Clover hay 


16 
30 

7 
4 
1 


1.136 
.375 
.749 
.316 
.302 


6.05 
4.26 
3.52 
2.67 
.32 


288 


Corn silage 


.210 


Ground oats 


266 


Ground corn 

Linseed meal 


.172 
069 






Nutrients provided 




2.878 


16.82 


1 005 









Rations numbered 2 and 3 are much better than number 
1, because the feed is more succulent and palatable and be- 



31 



476 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

cause less expensive mill feed is needed to properly balance 
the ration. Clover, alfalfa, cowpeas, and other legume for- 
age crops, contain a much higher percentage of protein 
(nitrogenous matter) than such forage crops as timothy, 
brome grass, or fodder com. For this reason, when they 
are used in feeding, they greatly reduce the amount of 
nitrogenous mill feeds, such as linseed meal, wheat middlings, 
or cotton seed meal, necessary to balance the ration properly. 

Palatability of the Ration. In formulating a ration, 
due regard should be given to its palatability. When a 
cow relishes her food, the appetite is stimulated, digestion 
aided, and she gives better returns. To this end, forage 
should be cut early and not exposed to sunshine any longer 
than is absolutely necessary. Dews and sunlight in alter- 
nation will bleach forage, and reduce its palatability and 
digestibility. The ration should be composed of a reason- 
able number of feeds, since a mixture is relished better 
than only one kind of grain or roughage; but frequent 
changes in a ration should be avoided, as they cause im- 
perfect digestion and assimilation. 

The dairyman should so adjust the supply of feed that 
the ration can be made from two kinds of roughage and 
several varieties of grainy and then make no more changes 
during the winter than are necessary. If an appetizing, 
well balanced ration can be fed all winter, better results 
will be obtained than when changes in the ration are made. 
Succulent feed, such as roots and silage, is greatly relished, 
and it stimulates the appetite and the flow of milk. It 
also aids digestion by keeping the cow in better physical 
tone. 

Note: Tables taken exactly from Bulletin 130 of the Minne- 
sota Agr. Expt. Station. Explanation of how to formulate a balanced 
ration by the author — this being an epitome of Bulletin 130. 



WOLFF FFjEDIIsG STANDARDS 



477 



THE WOLFF FEEDING STANDARDS FOR FARM 
ANIMALS 

(From Henry's Feeds and Feeding) 





Lb 


s. per day per 1,000 lbs. 


ive weight 


Kind of Live Stock 


Dry 


Digestible Nutrients 




Crude 






Sum 


Nutri- 




matter 


pro. 


C-H. 


Fat 


Nutri- 
ents 


tive 
Ratio 


1. Fattening cattle — 














First period 


30 


2.5 


15.0 


0.5 


15.0 


6.5 




30 


3.0 


14.5 


0.7 


17,0 


5.4 




26 
25 


2.7 
2.9 


15.0 
15.0 


0.7 
0.5 


17.2 
16.3 


6.2 


2. Breeding ewes, with lambs .... 


5.6 


3. Fattening sheep — 














First period 


30 


3.0 


15.0 


0.5 


16.5 


5.4 




2.S 


3.5 


14.5 


0.6 


16.9 


4.5 


4. Horses — 














Light work 


20 


1.5 


9.5 


0.4 


10.0 


7.0 




24 
20 
22 


2.0 
2.5 
2.5 


11.0 
13.3 
15.5 


0.6 
0.8 
0.4 


12.8 
15.5 
19.0 


6.2 




6.0 




6.6 


6. Fattening swine — 






36 
32 


4.5 
4.0 


25.0 
24.0 


0.7 
0.5 


31.2 

29.2 


5.9 




6.3 






2.7 


IS.O 


0.4 


22.0 


7.0 


7. Growing cattle — Dairv breeds 














Age, Months Av. Live Wt. 














2-3 160 


23 


4.2 


13.0 


2.0 


21.5 


4.2 


3-6 330 


24 


3.5 


12.8 


1.5 


19.0 


4.7 


6-12 550 


25 


2.5 


13.2 


0.7 


15.8 


6.0 


12-18 750 


24 


2.0 


12.5 


0-5 


13.9 


6.8 


18-24 950 


24 


1.8 


12.0 


0.4 


13.2 


7.2 


8. Growing sheep — INIutton breeds 














4-6 60 


26 


4.4 


15.5 


0.9 


20.9 


4.0 


6-8 80 


26 


3.5 


15.0 


0.7 


17.8 


4.8 


8-11 100 


24 


3.0 


14.3 


0.5 


10.3 


5.2 


11-15 120 


23 


2.2 


12.6 


0.5 


13.8 


6.3 


15-20 150 


22 


2.0 


12.0 


0.4 


12.8 


6.5 


9. Growing swine — Breeding stock 














2-3 50 


44 


7.6 


28 


1.0 


38.0 


4.0 


3-5 100 


35 


4.8 


22.5 


0.7 


29.0 


5.0 


5-6 120 


32 


3.7 


21.3 


0.4 


26.0 


6.0 


6-8 200 


28 


2.8 


18.7 


0.3 


22.2 


7.0 


8-12 250 


25 


2.1 


15 3 


0.2 


17.9 


/ .o 



Note : Balanced rations for these kinds of farm animals may be 
computed from the forage crop and grain feed analyses shown under 
the Haecker Feeding Standards, and by similar methods, using the 
Wolff Standards as the basis for nutrients required. 



478 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

COST OF FARM HORSE POWER 



Agricultural Region 


Total Annual 
Cost of Keeping 

One Horse. 

Average 5 years 

1908-1912 


Actual Cost per 
Hour of Work for 

One Horse. 

Average 9 years 

1904-1912 


Southeastern Minnesota 


$103.27 
100.64 

84.67 


9.72 cents 


Southwestern Minnesota 


(*) 8.64 cents 
8.05 cents 


Northwestern Minnesota 







C*) 7 year average. 

Note : The cost figures shown in this table have been selected from 
the statistical data of the Division of Farm Management of the Minne- 
sota Agricuhural Experiment Station. These figures are not estimates, 
but actual records from a large number of Minnesota farms. The 
averages are based on records of about 450 horses in each region. 
The annual cost includes interest on investment, depreciation, harness 
depreciation, shoeing, feed, labor, and miscellaneous expense. Feed 
is the largest item in the cost of farm horse power, representing on the 
average two thirds to three fourths of the total cost. The cost of horse 
power per hour is computed by dividing the total annual cost by the 
actual number of hours worked. 



FENCING CO^TS 

FENCING COSTS 



479 





Cost per Rod on Basis of a Square 
40-Acre Field 


Kind of Fence 


Cedar Posts 


Steel Posts 




1 
Rod 
Apart 


Rods 
Apart 


2 
Rods 
Apart 


1 
Rod 
Apart 


IH 
Rods 
Apart 


2 
Rods 
Apart 


2 strands barbed wire with temporary, 
driven, 3" posts . 


Cents 

37 
53 
62 


Cents 

21 
29 

45 

53. . 


Cents 

18 
25 


Cents 


Cents 


Cents 


52 
69 

77 


40 
57 
65 


35 


35 inch woven wire with 1 strand of 

barbed wire 

26 inch woven wire hog fence with 2 













Note: Statistics of average costs for fencing materials and 
labor by courtesy of L. B. Bassett, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment 
Station; arrangement and cost per rod computations by the author. 

The costs of fencing per rod shown in this table include posts, 
wire, staples and labor. These costs have been computed on the 
basis of a 40 acre field, and thus the cost for four corner posts has been 
figured into the average cost per rod. No cost for gates has been 
included. The posts for the temporary barbed wire fence are 3 inch 
cedar; all other wooden posts are of 4 inch cedar. Steel post costs 
are for the hoUow type of round, steel post. The temporary 3 inch 
cedar posts are driven 2 to 23^ feet deep; all other wooden posts are 
set 2J^ feet deep. The steel posts are driven 214 ft. deep. 

Fence cost is very variable in various agricultural regions of the 
United States, varying with the distance from wire manufacturing 
centers and with the local supply of post materials. Cedar and oak 
posts, for example, range in cost all the way from 8 cts. to 22 cts. 
apiece. The cedar post and the steel post are the posts of commerce 
and have, therefore, been used in this cost table. 

The costs shown in this table are based on the following 
data, which represent a fair average for the United States. 
(1) Labor. 

Wages for man labor $35.00 per month; board cost 
$15.00 per month; total of $50.00 per month; or approxi- 
mately 20 cents per hour for a 10 hour day. Horse labor 
is figured at 10 cents per hour per horse. 



480 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 




Photo by courtesy American Steel and Wire Company. 
Types of woven wire fence with steel line posts, corner posts and braces 

In one day of 10 hours, fencing work may be performed 
at the following rates: 2 men and one team of horses will 
drive 200 to 250 three inch cedar posts or steel posts in soil 
free from stone ; 2 men, with one hour of team labor, will dig 
holes and set 80 to 100 four inch posts 2}^ feet deep; 2 men 
win dig holes and set and brace 6 to 10 wooden corner posts; 
2 men will dig holes, mix the necessary concrete, and set and 
brace 4 steel corner posts, set in concrete ; 2 men will stretch 
and staple 80 rods of one strand, new barbed wire, in one hour; 
2 men will stretch and staple 80 rods of new woven wire in 
314 to 4 hours. 
(2) Posts. 

Cedar line posts, 3 inches by 7 feet, 15 cents apiece. 

Cedar line posts, 4 inches by 7 feet, 18 cents apiece. 

Cedar corner posts, 6 inches by 8 feet, 25 cents apiece. 

Steel line posts, round, galvanized, 7 feet, 32 cents apiece. 



FENCING COSTS 481 

Steel corner posts, round, galvanized, 7 feet 8 inches, with 
all braces included, $2.90 apiece. 

(3) Wire. 

• Barbed wire, $3.00 per roll of 105 lbs. One roll will 
run about 80 rods, giving a cost per rod for one strand of 
3^ cents. 

Woven wire, 35 inches high, with 12 inch stays, No. 
9 wire top and bottom, No. 1 1 wire intermediate, 23 cents 
per rod. 

Hog fence, woven wire, 26 inches high, with 6 inch 
stays, No. 9 wire top and bottom, No 11 wire intermediate, 
27 cents per rod. 

(4) Staples. 

$2.50 per keg of 100 lbs. Staples run 80. to 90 per pound. 
In stapling woven wire it takes about 7}/^ lbs. staples for 
100 rods of 35 inch fence with posts 1 rod apart. 



482 



FIELD MANAGE3IENT AND CROP ROTATION 



WORK CAPACITY OF FARM MACHINES 



Kind of Machine 



Binder, small grain 

Binder, small grain 

Binder, small grain 

Binder, corn 

Cultivator, single row, (42" rows) 

Cultivator, riding (42" rows) 

Cultivator, 2 row riding (42" rows) 

Drill, small grain 

Drill, small grain 

Drill, small grain 

Ensilage cutter, with fly wheel diameter 

Of 

Ensilage cutter, with fly -wheel diameter 

of 

Ensilage cutter, with fly wheel diameter 

of ■ 

Harrow, disk ( \ i lapped) 

Harrow, disk (!^ lapped) 

Harrow, disk (,'2 lapped) 

Harrow, spring tooth 

Harrow, spring tooth 

Harrow, spike tooth 

Harrow, spike tooth 

Header, small grain 

Mower 

Mower 

Packer 

Planter, beet (18" rows) 

Planter, corn, 1 row (42" rows) 

Planter, corn, 2 rows (42" rows) 

Planter, potato, 1 row (40" rows) 

Planter, potato, 2 rows (40" rows) 

Plow, walking 

Plow, walking 

Plow, sulky 

Plow, sulky gang 

Plow, engine gang, 4 plows 

Plow, engine gang, 6 plows 

Plow, engine gang, 8 plows 

Plow, deep tillage, 2 disk 

Potato digger, 40" rows 

Rake, self dump 

Rake, aide delivery 

Shredder and husker (corn) 

Shredder and husker (corn) 

Shredder and husker (corn) 

Threshing separator (pea and bean special) 
Threshing separator (pea and bean special) 
Threshing separator (pea and bean special) 
Threshing separator (pea and bean special) 
Threshing .separator, small grain (wheat 

and flax) 



Size 
of Ma- 
chine 



6' cut 
7' cut 
8' cut 



12 tube 
IG tube 
20 tube 

42 inch 

36 inch 

30 inch 

4 foot 
6 foot 
8 foot 
6 foot 
8 foot 

3 sec 

5 sec 
12 foot 

5 foot 

6 foot 
10 foot 

4 row 



14" cut 
16" cut 
10" cut 
28" cut 
50" cut 
84" cut 
112" cut 
20" cut 



10 foot 

8 foot 

4 roll 

6 roll 

8 roll 

12 inch 

20x32 " 

26x44 " 

36x54 " 

18x30 " 



Horse 
Power 
Re- 
quired 



3 
4 
4 

3-4 
1 
2 

3-4 
2 
3 
4 

15-20 

12-15 

8-12 

2 

3 

4 

3 

4 

2-3 

4 

6 

2 

2 

4 

2 

1 

1 

2 

4 

2 

3 

3 

4-5 

14-18 

20-25 

25-30 

6 

4 

2 

2 

10-12 

15-20 

25 

2-4 

6-8 

10-14 

14-18 

15-lS 



Speed per 
Hour in 

Miles, or 
Revolu 
tions per 
Minute 



Mites 
21' 
2'^ 
21/ 
23' 
2 
2 
2 

2^ 
2^^ 
2 'A 



2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

2y2 

2J4 

2H 

2 

2,1^ 

214 

23^ 

232 

23-2 

2 k. 

21/0 

21/2 

23i 

2 

2 

2 

2 

23^ 

23-2 

23-i:. 



Revo- 
lutions 
300-350 
300-350 
300-350 
300-350 

1050- 

1150 



Acre 
Capa- 
city per 
Hour 



1.5-1.8 

1.7-2.1 

2.0-2.4 

.8-1.0 

.5- . 

.5- . 

1.0-1.6 

1.5- 1.8 

2.0-2.4 

2.5-3.0 



.4- .5 

.6- .7 

.8-1.0 

1.0-1.4 

1.5-2.0 

3.0-3.6 

5.0-6.0 

3.0-3.6 

1.2-1.5 

1.5-1 

2.0-2.4 

1.5-1.8 

.5-1.0 

1.0-2.0 

.6-1.0 

1.2-2.0 

.25-.35 

.3-.4 

.3-.4 

.5-. 7 

.9-1.1 

1.4-1.6 

1.9-2.2 

.34-.4 

.7-1.0 

2.5-3.0 

2.0-2.4 



Ton 
or 
Bushel 
Capa- 
nty per 
Hour 



Tons 
9-15 



8-12 



Bushels 
25-50 • 
50-75 
80-100 

8-10 
3.5-50 
50-80 
80-100 



60 



WORK CAPACITY OF MACHINES 483 

Work Capacity of Farm Machines — Continued 



Kind of Machine 



Threshing separator (oats and barley) 



Threshing 
Threshing 
Threshing 
Threshing 
Threshing 
Threshing 
Threshing 
Threshing 



separator 
separator 
separator 
separator 
separator 
separator 
separator 
separator 



(wheat and flax) . 
(oats and barley) . 
(wheat and flax) . 
(oats and barley) . 
(wheat and flax) . 
(oats and barley) . 
(wheat and flax) , 
(oats and barley) . 



Size 
of Ma- 
chine 



18x36 

28x50 
28x50 
32x54 
32x54 
36x58 
36x58 
40x62 
40x62 



Horse 
Power 

Re- 
quired 



15-18 

30-40 
30-40 
40-50 
40-50 
50-60 
50-60 
60-80 
60-80 



Revolu- 
tions per 
Minute 



1050- 

1150 
750-800 
750-800 
750-800 
750-800 
750-800 
750-800 
750-800 
750-800 



Acre 
Capa- 
city per 

Hour 



Bushel 
Capa- 
city per 
Hour 



220 
75 
275 
125 
300 
160 
350 
200 
375 



Note: Data on ensilage cutters and shredders by courtesy of 
The International Harvester Co.; pea threshers, J. L. Owens Mfg. 
Co.; grain separators, J. I. Case Threshing Machine Co.; all other 
data by the author. 

Horse power for engine plows is horse power at the drawbar; for 
threshing machines, shredders, and ensilage cutters, horse power on 
the belt. 

The work capacity of farm machines varies through very wide 
limits, due to soil and crop conditions, speed and stamina of horses, 
size and shape of fields, condition of the machine to stand steady work, 
and the experience and character of the operator. In thi^ table there 
is shown the maximum capacity per hour for the common tillage, 
planting and harvesting machines, at the standard speeds for best 
work; also the average capacity per hour based on observations of 
the actual average daily capacity of farm machines. 

The actual, average work capacity of any farm machine may be 
determined very closely by subtracting 15% to 20% from the maximum 
capacity at a given speed — this deduction being made for time lost 
in turning, resting horses, oihng, adjusting, fiUing seed hoppers, etc.; 
or in case of power machinery for oihng, adjusting, and takmg fuel. 
The capacity of certain machines such as the corn binder and the 
potato digger are especially subject to variation. For best results- 
these machines must be driven at comparatively high speed (23^-3 
miles per hour) and this speed quickly tires the horses. In order to 
maintain maximum capacity it is necessary to change horses once or 
twice a day. If the horses are not changed the capacity varies greatly 
according to the amount of rest allowed. 



484 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



THE DEPRECIATION IN VALUE OF FARM 
MACHINERY 

''From Bulletin 73, Bureau of Statistics, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture) 

Annual Depreciation in Value of Farm Machinery Expressed in 
Percentages. 



Machine 



Grain binders 

Grain drills and seed- 
ers 

Thrashing outfit 

Corn binders 

Corn planters 

Corn cultivators 

Mowers 

Hay tedders 

Hay loaders 

Hay rakes 

Gang plows 

Sulky plows 

Walking plows 

Wagons 

Harrows 

Disks 

Manure spreaders . . . . 

Hay racks 

Reapers 

Grain tanks 

Sleds 

Fanning mills 

Horse weeders 

Harness (heavy) 

Gasoline engines 



S. E. 
Minn. 



Per cevl 
8.33 



7.27 



11.46 
6.74 
6.67 
7.25 
4.84 

11.78 
7.68 

10.51 

10.27 
4.77 
6.66 

11.01 
6.41 

10.50 

14.57 



5.66 
5.00 



5.97 
3.92 



S. W. 
Minn. 



Per cent 
9.44 



8.07 



10.16 
8.54 
9.04 

10.01 



7.51 

7.16 

11.93 

7.29 

4.86 

8.20 

7.46 

12.59 

14.89 



4.50 
4.97 



6.63 



N. W. 
Minn. 



Per cent 

7.47 



6.53 



6.97 
6.97 



8.46 
6.69 
5.77 
7.64 
5.44 
7.93 



10.30 



6.82 
'7.21' 



1,820 

Ac. Farm 

N. W. 

Minn. 



Per cent 
6.53 



4.36 
12.00 



4.66 
7.28 



5.81 
8.46 



2.47 
8.89 
3.35 



5.12 
8.13 
3.47 
8.20 
3.66 



640 
Ac. Farm 
W. Minn 



Per cent 
10.57 



6.47 



9.00 



5.00 
8.93 



5.00 
6.71 
3.70 
8.82 
5.90 
6.78 
7.50 
10.00 



3.33 

5.71 

4.44 

10.00 



Average, 
All Ma- 
chines 



Per cent 
7.91 

6.75 
12.00 
10.03 
7.15 
7.25 
7.80 
4.84 
11.78 
7.80 
7.40 
8.42 
6.09 
4.89 
8.72 
5.19 
11.67 
7.76 
8.13 
3.47 
5.81 
4.58 
5.71 
6.17 
7.35 



DEPRECIATION OF MACHINERY 



485 



Values in Farm Machinery Consumed per Acre Annually, 1902-1907. 


Machinery 


S. E. 
Minn. 


S. W. 
Minn. 


N. W. 
Minn. 


1,820 

Ac. Farm 

N. W. 

Minn. 


640 
Ac. Farm 
W. Minn. 


Average, 

All 
Farms 


Grain machinery: 

Binders 


$0,240 


$0,247 


$0,160 


$0,135 
.171 
.036 
.004 
.012 

.023 


$0,175 

.675' ' 
.016 

.251 


$0,181 
.171 


Drills, seeders 

Fanning mills 


.104 
.019 


.101 
.016 


.077 


.075 
.010 
.011 


Wagons, sleds, and 

racks 

Corn machinery: 

Binders 


.041 

1.199 
.094 
.171 

.171 

.332 
.152 
.113 
.300 
.078 

.064 

.086 
.027 
.185 


.041 

.911 
.080 
.145 

.159 

.310 
.106 


.036 
.653 


.034 

.826 
.087 


Cultivators 

Wagons, sleds, and 


.218 

.100 

.150 
.081 




.086 


.155 
.158 


Hay machinery: 

Mowers 

Rakes 

Tedders 


.146 
.018 


.166 
.026 


.206 
.085 
.113 




' '.266' ' 

.061 

.132 
.021 
.097 


.100 






.151 


Ropes, forks, etc. . 
Wagons, sleds, and 

racks 

All crop machinery: 

Plows 

Harrows 






.120 


.059 

.078 
.017 


.036 

.061 
.006 


.119 
.024 
.032 


.059 

.087 
.017 
.089 






.335 


.335 













Note: These data relative to farm machinery were collected 
in four farming communities of Minnesota by very careful methods. 
On about ten farms in each community inventories of machinery 
were taken annually for five years and the rate of depreciation computed. 
An accurate record of the acreage covered by farm machines was also 
made in order to determine an approximate cost per acre for ma- 
chinery. It was found that the acreage covered by a machine is not 
as important a factor in depreciation as age. 



486 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



COST OF PRODUCING CORN, WHEAT, OATS, BAR- 
LEY, AND POTATOES IN VARIOUS GEOGRAPHIC 
DIVISIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

(From the "Crop Reporter/' Bureau of Statistics, U. S. Department 
of Agriculture.) 

Cost of Producing Com in 1909, by Geographical Divisions. 



Item 


0) 

M 

•a 
'a 

t3 


a 



a 

3 



C m 

0) 

3 



lis 

-C o'S. 

2g 


aj.2 ^ 

■S'°"B. 


d 


Cost per acre for: — 

Commercial fertilizer, dollars 

Preparation of land " . . 

Seed " . . 

Planting " . . 

Cultivation " . . 

Gathering " . . 

Miscellaneous " . . 

Land rental or interest. . " . . 


0.82 

2.11 

.24 

.44 

2.24 

2.20 

.47 

3.75 


2.91 

4.42 

.32 

.74 

2.81 

5.00 

.62 

3.62 


2.57 

2.36 

.24 

.56 

2.80 

2.24 

.52 

3.14 


0.79 

1.96 

.23 

.47 

2.54 

1.65 

.48 

3.17 


0.55 

2.51 

.25 

.36 

2.11 

2.86 

.46 

4.97 


0.19 

1.74 

.23 

.38 

1.80 

2.06 

.42 

3.76 


0.12 

2.26 

.24 

.65 

1.81 

2.51 

.67 

3.40 


Total cost per acre, ex- 
cluding rent dollars 

Including rent, dollars 


8.52 
12.27 


16.82 
20.44 


11.29 
14.43 


8.12 
11.29 


9.10 
14.07 


6.82 
10.58 


8.26 
11.66 


Yield per acre bushels 

Cost, excluding rent, per bushel 

cents 

Cost, including rent, per bushel 

cents 

Value per bushel cents 

Average value of corn lands per 

acre dollars 


32.40 

26.30 

37.90 
62.00 

59.46 


43.10 

39.00 

47.40 
70.00 

62.72 


25.70 

43.90 

56.10 
85.60 

30.60 


25.20 

32.20 

44.80 
67.60 

31.37 


42.60 

21.40 

33.00 
55.00 

98.72 


34.10 

20.00 

31.00 
51.90 

70.80 


27.60 

29.-90 

42.20 
74.30 

54.57 



Tabulated from the reports of 6000 correspondents of the Bureau of Statistics. 



CROP COSTS 



487 



Cost of Producing Wheat in 


1909, 


by G 


eographical 


Divisions. 


Item 


01 

•a 
a 


North Atlantic 
States 


3 
O 


m 

3 
O 


'^.2 


North Central 
west of Missis- 
sippi River 


c 

o 
o m 


Cost per acre for: 

Commercial fertilizer, dollars 

Preparation of land " . . 

Seed " . . 

Planting " . . 

Harvesting " . . 

Preparing for market. . . " . . 

Miscellaneous " . . 

Land rental or interest. " . . 


0.58 
2.11 
1.42 
0.46 
1.33 
1.4S 
0.48 
3.30 


2.81 
3.86 
2.01 
0.60 
1.82 
1.69 
0.63 
3.63 


2.59 
2.47 
1.52 
0.62 
1.33 
1.26 
0.47 
2.85 


0.57 
1.89 
1.22 
0.46 
1.25 
1.48 
0.42 
3.06 


1.00 
2.58 
1.60 
0.41 
1.25 
1.49 
0.44 
4.63 


0.12 
1.79 
1.36 
0.42 
1.26 
1.42 
0.44 
2.93 


0.17 
2.39 
1.32 
0.53 
1.68 
1.89 
0.75 
3.97 


Total cost per acre exclud- 
ing rent dollars 

Including rent, " . . 


7.85 
11.15 


13.42 
17.05 


10.25 
13.10 


7.29 
10.35 


8.78 
13.41 


6.82 
9.74 


8.72 
12.69 


Yield per acre bushels 

Cost, excluding rent, per bushel 

cents 

Cost, including rent, per bushel 

cents 

Value per bushel " . 

Average value of wheat lands 

per acre dollars 


17.2 

46 

66 
96 

54.59 


20.7 

65 

82 
103 

63.18 


15.7 

66 

85 
109 

36.66 


14.4 

51 

72 
98 

36.60 


18.7 

47 

72 
98 

85.65 


15.8 

44 

62 
95 

50.24 


24.3 

36 

52 
90 

58.81 



Tabulated from the reports of 5000 correspondents of the Bureau of Statistics. 



488 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Cost of Producing Oats in 1909, by Geographical Divisions. 



Cost per acre for:— 

Commercial fertilizers. . . , 

Preparation of land 

Seed 

Planting 

Harvesting 

Preparing for market 

Miscellaneous expense ... 

Land rental or interest on 

land investment 

Total co.st per acre: 

Excluding rent 

Including rent 

Yield per acre bushels 

Cost per bushel: 

Excluding rent 

Including rent 

Value of grain per bu 

Value of oat lands per acre 



Dols. 

.40 
1.88 
1.12 

.44 
1.34 
1.51 

.44 

3.78 

7.13 

10.91 

35.2 

.20 

.31 

.40 

70.48 






Dols. 

1.94 
3.52 
1.48 

.68 
1.99 
1.80 

.58 

3.28 

11.99 
15.27 
37.3 

.32 

.41 

.50 

55.90 



-Ceo 



Dols. 

1.97 
1.97 
1.22 

.65 
1.22 
1.23 

.40 

2.80 

8.66 

11.46 

26.3 

.33 
.44 

.64 
29.33 



:g Oft 
t^ ft 

O m'S 
1^ tu 



Dols. 

.33 
1.99 
1.10 

.40 
1.27 
1.43 

.39 

4.57 

6.91 

11.48 

37.2 

.19 
.31 

.38 
89.86 



■S'°"o. 

IF 



Dols. 

.08 
1.46 
1.06 

.39 
1.27 
1.46 

.44 

3.44 

6.16 
9.60 
33.5 

.18 

.29 

.36 

68.10 



Dols. 

.41 

1.68 
1.03 

.50 
1.32 
1.58 

.40 

2.89 

6.92 
9.81 
31.3 

.22 
.31 

.48 
30.67 






Dols. 

.07 
2.43 
1.16 

.58 
1.65 
2.16 

.66 

3.87 

8.71 

12.58 

43.7 

.20 

.29 

.50 

56.66 



Tabulated from reports of 5,000 correspondents of the Bureau of Statistics. 

Cost of Producing Barley in Important Barley States, 1909. 







M 


d 


C3 










a 




•d m 


o 


"3 


O 




rt.1 


nn 


^ 


a 


Item 






o 


a 


o 


n 

^Q 


ll 


0) 


.2 


Cost per acre for — 




















Preparing ground for seed 




















dollars 


1 84 


3.71 


2.22 


1.83 


1.25 


1.83 


1.61 


0.97 


1.77 


Seed 


1.14 


1.96 


1.38 


1.21 


1.22 


.97 


1.02 


.89 


.95 


Sowing " 


.46 


.65 


.69 


.42 


.36 


.46 


.37 


.48 


.44 


Harvesting " 


1.28 


2.00 


1.58 


1.22 


1.37 


.99 


1.15 


.93 


1.42 


Preparing for market . " 


1.50 


2.58 


1.60 


1.38 


1.25 


1.69 


1.26 


1.04 


1.75 


Rental value of land. . " 


3.17 


2.S7 


4.16 


2.67 


4.80 


2.36 


2.73 


2.43 


3.20 


Other items of cost . " 


.66 


.72 


.73 


.62 


.39 


.29 


.49 


.29 


.93 


Total cost per acre — 




















Including item of rental" 


10.05 


16.28 


12.49 


9.43 


10.64 


8.59 


8.71 


7.24 


10.46 


Excluding item of rental" 


6.88 


13.41 


8.33 


6.76 


5.84 


6.23 


5.98 


4.81 


7.26 


Yield per acre bushels 


27.6 


41.0 


30.0 


25.0 


28.0 


25.0 


24.0 


23.0 


33.0 


Cost per bushel — 




















Including rental cents 


36.4 


39.7 


41.6 


37.7 


38.0 


34.4 


36.3 


31.5 


31.7 


Excluding rental " 


24.9 


32.7 


27.8 


27.0 


20.9 


24.9 


24.9 


20.9 


22.0 


Value of grain — 






















52.1 
65.47 


67.0 
45.83 


60.0 
77.43 


51.0 
51.00 


54.0 
106.36 


47.0 
33.96 


61.0 
52.08 


45.0 
40.00 


50.0 


Value of land per acre.doll'rs 


62.06 



Tabulated from reports of 200 correspondents of the Bureau of Statistics 



CROP COSTS 



489 



Cost of Producing Potatoes in 1909, by Geographical Divisions. 



Item 



Cost per acre for: — 

Commercial fertilizers 

Preparing ground for seed. . . 

Seed 

Planting 

Cultivating 

Gathering 

Rental value of land 

Other items of cost 

Total cost per acre including 

rental value of land 

Excluding rental value of land 

Yield per acre bushels 

Cost per bushel: 

Including rental value of land 

■ cents 

Excluding rental value of 

land cents 

Value of product per bushel, 

cents 

Value of land per acre . dollars 





o 




— 


o 


-^ 




°^.2 




a 


a 








t3 m 


C.2 > 


•s 


O 


a 

O 


j3"o'S, 


Dols. 


Dols. 


Dols. 


Dols. 


3.29 


9.01 


5.62 


1.07 


3.38 


4.72 


3.20 


3.28 


6.36 


5.90 


5.84 


4.38 


2.39 


2.58 


2.46 


2.10 


3.15 


3.83 


3.20 


2.96 


5.77 


6.73 


4.41 


5.28 


3.99 


3.85 


3.87 


4.15 


1.71 


2.20 


1.50 


1.37 


29.04 


38.82 


30.10 


24.59 


25.05 


34.97 


26.23 


20.44 


lis 


138 


111 


115 


24.6 


28.1 


27.1 


21.4 


21.2 


25.3 


23.6 


17.8 


53 


53 


60 


46 


64.20 


62.07 


44.76 


71.06 









Dols. 
0.40 
2.22 
5.44 
2.44 
2.44 
5.64 
3.66 
1.26 

23.50 

19.84 

102 



23.0 
20.0 



53 

68.25 



Dols. 
1.94 
2.41 
6.49 
2.12 
2.88 
4.25 
3.84 
1.60 

25.53 

21.69 

84 



30.4 
25.8 



71 
35.35 



^3 



Dols. 
0.46 
3.42 
5.70 
2.84 
3.73 
7.02 
4.87 
2.76 

30.80 

25.93 

137 



22.5 
18.9 



64 
74.23 



Tabulated from reports of 4,000 correspondents of the Bureau of Statistics. 



490 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



SUMMARY OF THE COST OF PRODUCING FIELD 
CROPS IN MINNESOTA 

(From Bulletin 73, Bureau of Statistics, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) 
Average Annual Cost per Acre of Producing Field Crops, 1902-1907. 
(Including rental of land.) 



Crop 


S. E. 
Minn. 


S. W. 
Minn. 


N. W. 
Minn. 


Minne- 
sota 
Agri- 
cul- 
tural 

Experi- 
ment 
Sta- 
tion 


Large 
Farm, 
North- 
west- 
ern 
Minne- 
sota 


Aver- 
age, 
All 

Farms 




$9,647 
6.500 

11.658 
15.297 


$8,880 


$7,003 




$6,179 


$8,211 




6.500 


Corn — ears husked from standing 


9.662 








10.438 










15 297 


Corn — cut, shocked, and hauled 


10.265 








10 265 


Corn — grown thickly and siloed. 


20.627 
10.072 




19.187 


6.283 


19.892 


Flaxseed — thrashed from windrow 


'8.86i 
8.400 


7.272 
7.028 

6.895 

8.912 


7.496 
7.851 


Flaxseed— bound, shocked, stack- 






7.278 


Fodder corn — cut and shocked 


10.733 

12.362 

6.185 

7.178 
9.317 
6.036 




7.896 


9.650 


Fodder corn — cut, shocked, and 


12.362 


Hay — timothy and clover (first 


5.553 


4.567 






5.591 


Hay — ;timothy and clover (two 






7.178 




7.971 

5.478 


6.349 
2.970 






7.105 






2.584 
3.394 


4.042 




3.394 




6.741 








6.741 








32.682 


6.073 


32.682 




9.854 
9.158 


9.039 
8.092 


7.110 


8.863 




8.884 








26.366 

37.721 
3.432 
6.056 


26.366 


Potatoes — machine production 










37.721 




5.985 
9.861 


5.512 
8.389 


4.310 
6.977 




4.332 


Wheat — fall plowed 


7.249 



Note: These summarized figures on the costs of crop pro- 
duction, in Minnesota include a land rental charge of $3.50 per acre 
for lands in S. E. Minn.; $3.00 per acre for S. W. Minn.; and $1.80 
per acre for the large farm in N. W. Minn. Land values have risen 
greatly in these communities since 1902-1907, and land rentals as an 
item of crop cost are therefore considerably higher. This item of 
crop cost may be figured into the data of this table for any community 
by computing the current interest rate on the market value of the 
land. Labor and seed Jiave also increased in cost since the period 
1902-1907. This increase amounts to approximately 20%. 



CROP COSTS 



491 



ITEMIZED ACCOUNTS OF THE COSTS OF PRO- 
DUCING CORN, HAY, WHEAT, AND 
POTATOES IN MINNESOTA 

(From Bulletin 73, Bureau of Statistics, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 
Cost of Producing Com— Ears Husked from Standing Stalks. 



Item 



S. E. Minn. 



Total 

Acreage, 

Five Years 



Total Cost 



Cost per 
Acre 



Seed 

Shelling seed 

Plowing 

Dragging 

Planting (horse planter) 

Cultivating , 

Weeding 

Husking 

Machinery cost 

Land rental 



Total. 



694.725 
559.545 
803.331 
990.448 

834.228 
960.388 



$157,290 
14.400 

1,053.520 
538.977 
200.602 

1,734.079 



446.430 



1,542.824 



$0,226 

.026 

1.311 

.544 

.240 

1.806 



3.456 

.549 

3.500 



11.658 



Cost of Producing Fodder Com Planted Thick for Forage — Cut, 
Shocked, and Stacked in the Farmstead. 



Item 



S. E. Minn. 



Total 
Acreage, 
Five Years 



Total Cost 



Cost per 
Acre 



Seed 

Plowing , 

Dragging 

Planting (horse planter) . 

Cultivating 

Cutting (corn binder) . . , 

Shocking and tying 

Twine 

Hauhng and stacking ... 

Machinery cost 

Land rental 



Total. 



371.194 
803.331 
372.844 
344.005 
353.904 
334.128 
334.128 
298.632 
246.225 



$161,960 
1,053.520 
198.071 
101.367 
431.009 
232.697 
169.984 
145.970 
401.217 



$0,436 

1.311 

.531 

.295 

1.218 

.696 

.509 

.489 

1.629 

1.748 

3.500 

12.362 



32 



492 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Cost of Producing Corn — Cut, Shocked, and Shredded. 



Item 



S. E. Minn. 



Total 

Acreage, 

Five Years 



Total Cost 



Cost per 
Acre 



Seed. 

Shelling seed 

Plowing 

Dragging 

Planting (horse planter) 

Cultivating 

Cutting (corn binder . ) . . 
Shocking and tying .... 

Twine 

Picking up ears 

Shredding 

Machinery cost 

Land rental 



694.725 
559.545 
803.331 
990.448 
834.228 
960.388 
367.399 
343.579 
321.499 
139.230 
181.164 



$157,290 
14.400 

1,053.520 
538.977 
200.602 

1,734.079 
267.547 
175.050 
143.710 
34.600 
717.929 



$0,226 

.026 

1.311 

.544 

.240 

1.806 

.728 

.509 

.447 

.249 

3.963 

1.748 

3.500 



Total . 



15.297 



Cost of Producing Com — Thickly Planted and Siloed. Average of 
Four Farms in Southeastern Minnesota, 1906-1907. 



Item 



Total 
Acreage 



Total Cost 



Cost per 
Acre 



Seed. 

Plowing. . . 
Han'owing . 



Planting 

Cultivating 

Cutting (binder) 

Twine (4323/^ pounds) 

Loading and hauling, feeding and 

packing 

Fuel (coal, 13,730 pounds) 

Engine rent and engineer , 

Values consumed in ensilage cutter . 

Interest on silo investment 

Silo depreciation 

Farm machinery cost 

Land rental 



371.194 
803.331 
372.844 
344.005 
353.904 
82.89 
82.89 

82.89 
70.89 
70.89 
15.00 
82.50 
82.50 



$161,960 

1,053.520 

198.071 

101.367 

431.009 

62.520 

44.120 

447.100 
37.940 
96.340 
12.830 
60.120 

117.990 



Total. 



$0,436 
1.311 
.531 
.295 
1.218 
.754 
.532 

5.394 

.535 

1.359 

.855 

.729 

1.430 

1.748 

3.500 

20.627 



CROP COSTS 



493 



Cost of Producing Hay — Timothy and Clover. 
First Crop 



Item 



S. E. Minn. 



Total 

Acreage, 

Five Years 



Total Cost 



Cost per 
Acre 



Seed 

Mowing 

Raking 

Cocking and spreading . . 

Hauling in 

Hauling in and stacking . 

Machinery cost 

Land rental 



Total first crop . 



793.706 
618.474 
624.645 
591.514 



$291,705 
109.977 
124.500 
650.056 



$0,293 

.368 

.178 

.199 

1.099 



.548 
3.500 



6.185 



Item 



S. W. Minn. 



Total 
Acreage, 
Five Years 



Total Cost 



Cost per 
Acre 



Seed 

Mowing 

Raking 

Cocking and spreading . . 

Hauling in 

HauMng in and stacking . 

Machinery cost 

Land rental 



Total first crop. 



260.204 
260.204 



585.352 
55.407 



260.204 



323.135 



$0,293 
.328 
.213 



1.242 

.477 

3.000 



5.553 



494 



FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 



Cost of Producing Hay — Timothy and Clover — Continued. 
First Crop — Continued 





N. W. Minn. 


Item 


Total 
Acreage, 
Five \ ears 


Total Cost 


Cost per 
Acre 


Seed 






$0,293 


Mowing 

Raking 

Cocking and spreading 


417.647 
287.250 


$151,637 
71.169 


.363 

.248 


Hauling in . 








Hauling in and stacking 


369 202 


470.047 


1.273 


Machinery cost 


.290 


Land rental 






2.100 










Total first crop 






4.567 











Seconc 


Crop 








S. E. Minn. 


Item 


Total 
Acreage, 
Five Years 


Total Cost 


Cost per 
Acre 


Mowing 


245.090 

231.090 

89.502 

128.230 


$64,734 
26.580 
13.448 
59.506 


$0,264 


Raking 


.115 


Cocking and spreading 

Hauling in 


.150 
.464 


Total second crop 






.993 










Total cost of two cuttings . . . 






7.178 











CROP COSTS 



495 



Cost of Producing Spring Wheat — Fall Plowed. 



Item 



S. E. Minn. 



Total 

Acreage, 

Five Years 



Total Cost 



Cost per 
Acre 



Seed. 

Cleaning seed 

Plowing 

Dragging 

Seeding 

Weeding 

Cutting (binder) 

Twine 

Shocking 

Stacking 

Stack thrashing (labor) , 
Thrashing, cash cost . . . 

Machinery cost 

Land rental 



Total. 



41.697 



$56,280 



4,773.396 
41.697 
41.697 



5,996.560 

9.984 

15.485 



41.697 
41.697 
41.697 
11.430 
11.430 
11.430 



19.182 
11.950 
9.100 
9.021 
6.037 
3.960 



$1,350 



1.256 
.239 
.371 



.460 
.287 
.218 
.789 
.528 
.346 
.517 
3.500 



9.861 



Item 



Seed. 

Cleaning seed 

Plowing 

Dragging 

Seeding 

Weeding 

Cutting (binder) 

Twine 

Shocking 

Stacking 

Stack thrashing (labor) . 
Thrashing, cash cost . . . 

Machinery cost 

Land rental 



Total . 



S. W. Minn. 



Total 
Acreage, 
Five Years 



3,891.984 
455.586 
5,973.625 
4,204.806 
4,311.334 



4.227.757 
3,744.207 
3,901.137 
2,814.768 
1,621.959 
1,621.959 



Total Cost 



$3,909,910 

15.890 

6,814.320 

722.712 

1,016.375 



1,407.239 
1,082.380 

428.305 
1,516.979 

416.240 
1,158.110 



Cost per 
Acre 



$1,005 

.035 

1.141 

.172 

.236 



.333 
.289 
.110 
.539 
.257 
.714 
.558 
3.000 

8.389 



496 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Cost of Producing Spring Wheat — Fall Plowed — Continued. 



Item 



N. W. Minn. 



Total 
Acreage, 
Five Years 



Total Cost 



Cost per 
Acre 



Seed. 

Cleaning seed 

Plowing 

Dragging 

Seeding 

Weeding 

Cutting (binder) 

Twine 

Shocking 

Stacking 

Stack thrashing (labor) . 
Thrashing, cash cost . . . 

Machinery cost 

Land rental 



5,196.833 
4,965.968 
7,186.027 
5,184.833 
5,196.833 
3,501.440 
5,124.194 
3,041.414 
5,124.194 
2,448.241 
1,297.101 
1,297.101 



$4,300,810 

147.571 

8,120.460 

1,456.853 

1,415.490 

278.270 

1,706.019 

593.200 

690.165 

1,177.160 

404.508 

557.310 



$0,828 
.030 
1.130 
.281 
.272 
.079 
.333 
.195 
.135 
.481 
.312 
.430 
.371 
2.100 



Total. 



6.977 



LARGE FARM IN NORTHWESTERN 


MINNESOTA 


Item 


Total 
Acreage, 
Five Years 


Total Cost 


Cost per 
Acre 


Seed 

Cleaning seed 

Plowing 


4,851.276 
4,705.576 
5,363.458 
4,851.276 
4,851.276 
4,707.576 
4,851.276 
4,851.276 
4,851.276 
•3,187.216 


$4,501,205 

62.211 

4,958.430 

1,175.517 

1,101.490 

149.299 

1,483.647 

919.530 

614.420 

2,089.767 


$0,928 
.013 
.924 


Drageing 


.242 


Seeding 

Weeding 

Cutting (binder) 

Twine 

Shocking 


.227 
.032 
.306 
.190 
.127 


Shock thrashing (labor) 

Value consumed in thrashing outfit 


.656 
.335 


Machinery cost 






.276 


Land rental 






1.800 










Total 






6.056 











CROP COSTS 
Cost of Producing Potatoes on Unfertilized Land. 



497 



Item 



Clay County, Minn., 1907 



Total 
Acreage, 
One Year 



Total Cost 



Cost per 
Acre 



Seed (3,984 bushels) 

Plowing 

Harrowing 

Cutting seed 

Planting 

Weeding (horse weeder) 

Cultivating (three times) 

Spraying (three times) 

Paris green 

Bluestone 

Digging 

Picking up 42,000 bushels, at 3H 

cents per bushel and board 

Hauling and storing 

Machinery cost 

Land rental 



331.643 
2,790.984 
331.642 
331.642 
331.642 
331.642 
331.642 
331.642 
331.642 
331.642 
331.642 

331.642 
331.642 



$1,925.00 
3,322.25 

60.96 
265.68 
205.68 
180.41 
920.54 

97.55 
425.00 
175.00 
443.88 

1,594.00 
863.24 



Total. 



$5,804 

1.190 
.184 
.801 
.620 
.144 

2.776 
.294 

1.282 
.528 

1.338 

4.806 

2.603 

.596 

3.000 

26.366 



498 FIELD MANAGEMENT AND CROP ROTATION 

Cost of Producing Potatoes on Fertilized Land. 



Item 



Clay County, Minn., 1907 



Total 
Acreage, 
One \ear 



Total Cost 



Cost per 
Acre 



Spring plowing 

Harrowing (four times) 

Cost of seed (3,360 bushels) 

Cutting seed 

Treating seed 

Corrosive sublimate 

Planting 

Fertilizers (25 tons) 

Weeding (twice) 

Cultivating (three times) 

Spraying (four times) 

Paris green 

Lime 

Bluestone 

Digging 

Picking up 38,300 bushels, 3 >^ cents 

bushel and board 

Hauling, storing, and sorting 

Machinery cost 

Land rental 



237.962 
237.962 
237.962 
237.962 
180.250 
180.250 
237.962 
100.000 
237.962 
237.962 
237.962 
237.962 
237.962 
237.962 
237.962 

237.962 
237.962 



$241.90 

182.07 

2,016.00 

89.55 

21.60 

50.00 

163.97 

650.00 

77.70 

431.73 

106.10 

234.00 

42.00 

160.00 

• 430.82 

1,513.80 
789.40 



$1,017 
.765 

8.472 
.376 
.120 
.277 
.689 

6.500 
.327 

1.814 
.446 

1.833 

1.810 

6.362 

3.317 

.596 

3.000 



Total. 



37.721 



Note: These itemized cost accounts were collected on groups 
of Minnesota farms by very careful methods and show very good 
averages of the costs of farm operations pertaining to crop production. 
Land values and labor costs have risen appreciably since the date these 
figures were collected. The item of land rental is easily computed for 
any community by charging current interest on the market value of 
the land. Farm labor in these tables was computed from crop season 
wage rates averaging about $28.00 per month, exclusive of board 
furnished, which was worth on an average about $14.00 per month. 
Any increases in wage rates since the date of these statistics may 
easily be put into percentage increases, and approximate corrections 
made in these tables, if desired. 



INDEX 



(References are to pages.) 



Acidity of soil- 
Correction of, 308, 407 
Detection of, 308 
In subsoils, 407 

Acid phosophate — 
Analysis and cost, 281 
Compared with phosphote rock, 

326 
Manufacture of, 286 
Use and application, 310 

Alfalfa (see also grass crops and 
legume crops) — 
A source of humus, 52 
Advantages of, 148 
In Roman agriculture, 20 
Inoculation for, 418 
Method of seeding, 43, 454 
Rotations for, 146, 149, 247 
Use in rotations, 145 

Alsike clover (see grass crops and 
legume crops)— 
Method of seeding, 454, 458 

Ammonia — Nitrogen equivalent, 
283 

Analysis of food stuffs, 466 

Animal Husbandry- 
Augment of crop values by, 85 
In Roman agriculture, 30 
Relation to fertility, 72, 346 
Relation to waste crop products, 
85 

Animal products — Analysis of, 459 

Bacteria — Nitrogen gathering — 
Artificial distribution, 417 
Discovery of, 23 



Frequent lack in soils, 415 
Natural distribution, 416 
Not found in subsoils, 407 
Species of, 416 
Work of, 57, 415 

Balanced rations, 473 

Barley (see grain crops) — Methods 
of seeding, 454 

Beans (see legume crops) — Meth- 
ods of seeding, 454 

Beets (see sugar beet farming) — 
Methods of seeding, 454 

Bhght— Potato, 432 

Blood fertilizer — 

Analysis and cost, 281 

Use and appUcation, 289, 316 

Blue grass (see grass crops and 
pastures) — Method of seed- 
ing, 454, 458 

Bone phosophate — 
Analysis and cost, 281 
Manufacture of, 286 
Use and appHcation, 310 

Bordeaux mixture, 434 

Brome grass (see also grass crops) 
For pasture in semi-arid re- 
gions, 178 
In rotations, 181 
Method of seeding, 454 

Buckwheat (see also grain crops) 
In rotations, 170 
Method of seeding, 455 

Burdock, 440 

Business management — Advan- 
tages of rotation in, 81 



500 



INDEX 



Calcium phosphate — Phosphorus 

equivalent, 282 
Catch crops — 
How used, 45, 135 
List of, 45 
Clover (see also grass crops and 
legume crops) — 
A source of humus, 52 
Early English, 21 
Inoculation for, 418 
Introduction into U. S., 22 
Method of seeding, 455, 458 
Cockle, 439 
Columella, 20 
Complete fertilizers — 

Analysis and cost, 281, 300 
Comparative cost of plant food 

in, 328 
Conditions for use of, 303 
Indiscriminate use of, 297 
Manufacture of, 291, 328 
Continuous cropping — Disadvan- 
tages, 64 
Corn (see also cultivated crops) — 
Best method for manuring, 76 
Germination of seed, 423 
Selection of seed, 422 
Method of planting, 455 
Corn farming — Rotations for, 126, 

170 
Costs of crop production, 486 
Cotton (see also cultivated crops) 

Method of planting, 455 
Cotton farming — Rotations for, 

200, 216 
Cover crops — 
List of, 48 
Purpose of, 47 
Use in rotations, 143 



Cowpeas (see also legume crops) — 
For green manure, 195, 213 
For hog pasture, 134 
Inoculation for, 418 
In rotations, 216, 220 
Method of planting, 455 

Crimson clover (see legume 
crops) — 
As a cover crop, 48 
In rotations, 198 
Method of seeding, 455 

Crop residues, 68 

Crop rotation — See Rotation — 

Crops — 

Catch crops, 45, 135, 454 
Classification for rotation, 39 
Cost of production, 486 
Cover crops, 47, 48, 143, 454 
Cultivated crops, 43, 45, 54, 55, 

65, 345, 356 
Deep-rooted, 60 
Delicate feeding, 59 

Grain crops, 39, 40, 60, 64, 345, 

421, 454 
Grass crops, 41, 54, 66, 454, 458 
Green manure crops, 46, 47, 78, 

140, 271, 358, 362, 454 
Gross feeding, 58 
Humus destroying, 54 
Humus producing, 50, 52 
Improved varieties, 424 
Increase of value by feeding, 85 
Legume crops, 19, 20, 22, 23, 

52, 60, 297, 306, 415, 419, 454 
Nitrogen gathering, 55, 57 
Shallow-rooted, 60 
Cultivated crops — 
Effect on humus supply, 55, 

66, 345 



INDEX 



501 



Effect on soil properties, 54, 65 
Effect on succeeding crops, 45, 

55, 356 
List of, 43 

Dairy cattle — Cost of mainte- 
nance, 460 
Dairy farming — 

On high-priced land, 154 

Rotations for, 125, 187 
Deep-rooted crops — 

Effect on soil properties, 60, 411 

List of, 60 
Deep tillage, 408 
Deere, John, 28 
Delicate feeding crops — 

Effect on soil properties, 59 

List of, 59 
Diversified farming — Rotations 
for, 129, 172, 190, 198, 218 
Drainage — 

Essential to crop rotation, 99 

Financing, 107 
Dry farming — 

Depletion of fertility by, 237 

Rotations for, 174, 221, 245 

Emmer (see grain crops) — 

In rotations, 174 

Method of seeding, 455 
Ensilage — Use in intensive farm- 
ing, 133, 154 
European agriculture compared 

with American, 385 
Experiment station reports — 

On fertilizers, 321 

On rotation, 339 

Fallowing — 
Early American, 18 



EngUsh, 18 

Influence on nitrogen supply, 

350 
Influence on succeeding crops, 

359 
Roman, 18 

Feeding standards — 

Haecker, 463 

Wolff, 477 
Fencing costs, 479 
Fertility — See soil fertility 
Fertilizer machinery, 318 
Fertilizers — 

Analysis and costs of, 280 

Availability of plant food in, 281 

Determination of need for, 273 

Early Enghsh use of, 32, 386 

Economical use of, 254 

Efficiency of, dependent on good 
farming, 305 

Experiment station reports on, 
321 

Need for, 269 

Profitableness of, 275 

Relation to permanent agri- 
culture, 257 

Sovu-ce and value of, 280 

Use and application of, 306 
Field management — 

Economies effected by system- 
atic, 104 

To establish crop rotation, 98 
Flax (see grain crops) — 

In rotations, 129 

Method of seeding, 454 
Flax wilt — 

Affected by continuous crop- 
ping, 69 

Control of, 428 



502 



INDEX 



Foodstuffs — Analysis of, 466 
Forage crops — See grass and le- 

lume crops 
Formaldehyde treatment for — 

Corn smut, 431 

Flax wilt, 428 

Loose smuts, 430 

Potato rots, 435 

Potato scab, 431 

Stinking smuts, 429 

Tobacco rot, 435 
Fungus diseases — 

Affected by continuous crop- 
ping, 69 

Affected by rotation cropping, 
72 

Control of, 428 

Grain crops 

Effect on soil properties, 60, 
64, 345 

List of, 39 

Method of seeding, 40, 454 

Selection of seed for, 421 
Grain farming — Rotations for, 

129, 142, 168 
Grass crops — 

Effect on soU properties, 54, 66 

List of, 41 

Method of seeding, 41, 454, 458 
Grass mixtures, 458 
Green manure crops — 

Effect on succeeding crops, 358, 
362 

Experiment with, in Manchuria, 
271 

List of, 47 

Method of seeding, 140, 454 

Purpose of, 46, 78 

Use in rotations, 140 



Gross feeding crops — 
Effect on soil properties, 58 
List of, 58 

Haecker feeding standards, 463 
Headed grain, straw of — 

As humus supply, 52 
Hemp — 

In rotations, 219 

Method of planting, 455 
Historical review, 15 
Hogging-off crops, 132 
Hog gi'owing — 

Important crops for, 132 

In Western states, 242 
Horse power, cost of, 478 
Humus — 

Definition of, 50 

Destruction of, 51, 54, 66, 345 

Function of, 50, 347, 360 

Source of, 51 
Humus destroying crops — 

Effect on soil properties, 54, 345 

List of, 54 
Humus equihbrium, 52, 54, 253 
Humus producing crops — 

Effect on soil properties, 50 

List on, 52 

Inoculation of soils, 415 
Insects — 

Affected by continuous crop- 
ping, 69 
Affected by rotation cropping, 
72 
Inter-tillage — 
Effect on succeeding crops, 45, 

55, 356 
Effect on humus supply, 55, 
66, 345 



INDEX 



503 



Iron sulphate for wild mustard,437 
Irrigation farming — 

Rotations for, 247 

Western, 232 

Kafir corn (see also cultivated 
crops) — 

For forage or seed in semi-arid 
regions, 175 

In rotations, 180 

Method of planting, 455 
Kainit — 

Analysis and cost, 281 

Source of, 288 
Kinghead, 438 

Labor — Advantages of rotation in 
handling, 81 

Land areas of the United States, 
393 

Land value — Effect of on agricul- 
tural methods, 35, 88 

Laurence, Rev. John, 19 

Leases, early EngUsh, 31 

Legume crops — 

Bacteria associated with, 57 
Early American, 22 
Early EngUsh, 20 
Early Roman, 19, 23 
Effect on soil properties, 57 
Importance, of lime for, 306 
Inoculation for, 415 
Method of seeding, 454 
Proportion of nitrogen in straw, 

stubble, and roots, 297 
Seed bed preparation, 60, 419 
Source of nitrogen in, 57, 297 

Lime fertilizers — 

Importance for legume crops, 
306 



In connection with deep tillage, 
410 

Use and application, 306 
Live stock — 

Enhancement of crop values by, 
85 

Relation to soil fertiUty, 72, 346 

Relation to waste crop pro- 
ducts, 85 
Live stock farming — Rotations 
for, 130, 138, 197 

Machinery — 

Depreciation of, 484, 

Work capacity of, 482 
Mammoth clover — 

For annual pastvure, 139 

For green manure, 47, 141, 143 

Method of seeding, 143, 455 
Mangels (see also cultivated 
crops) — 

In rotations, 133 

Method of planting, 456 
Manure — 

Amounts produced by ani- 
mals, 459 

Composition of, 459 

Effect on' crop yields, 76, 346, 
366, 368, 370, 371, 372 

Handling, 76 
Marl, 309 

Meadows — Seed mixtures for, 458 
Measurements for — 

Acreage of fields, 451 

Com in the crib, 450 

Grain in bins, 450 

Grain or ear corn in wagon 
boxes, 450 

Hay in mows and stacks, 449 

Potatoes in bins, 450 



504 



INDEX 



Millets (see grain, catch, and 

grass crops) — Methods of 

seeding, 456 
Milo maize (see Kafir corn and 

cultivated crops) — Method of 

planting, 456 
Moisture — Control of in soils, 412 

Nitrogen — 

Atmospheric, 57 

Effect of fallowing on, 350 

In straw, stubble, and roots of 
legume crops, 297 

Problem of supply, 56, 260, 348 

Sources of, in legume crops, 297 

Waste of, 56 
Nitrogen fertilizers — ■ 

Analysis and cost, 281 

Source of, 250 

Unprofitableness of, 300, 317 

Use and application, 316 
Nitrogen gathering crops — 

Effect on soil properties, 55 

List of, 57 
North Atlantic states, 183 
North Central states, 164 
Nurse crops, 41 

Oats — See also grain crops 
Oriental agriculture, 388 

Pastures — 

Annual, 45, 136, 139 

Grass mixtures for, 458 

Permanent, with rotations, 98, 
150 

Rotation, 98, 120, 125, 126, 129 
Peanuts — In rotations, 200 
Peas — 

As catch crop, 135, 138 

Food for stock, 242 



In rotations, 157, 247 
Methods for planting, 457 
UtiUzation of waste products, 86 
Phosphate fertilizers — Use and 

apphcation, 310 
Phosphate rock — 

Analysis and cost, 281 
Compared with acid phosphate, 

326, 370, 371, 372 
Production in United States, 387 
Results on Illinois farm, 381 
Source of, 284 
Western, 282 
Phosphoric acid — Phosphorus 

equivalent, 282 
Phosphorus — 
Dearth of, 277 
Geographical variations, 278 
Importance of, 279 
Key to permanent produc- 
tivity, 277 
Plant Diseases — 

Affected by continuous crop- 
ping, 69 
Affected by rotation cropping, 

72 
Control of by treatment, 428 
Plant food — 

Affected by continuous crop- 
ping, 67 
Affected by rotation cropping, 

71, 78, 80, 349 
Conservation of, in Orient, 388 
Liberation of, 79 
Losses of, 258 
Removed by crops, 295 
Planting data, 454 
Plant structure — Composition of 
50, 295 



INDEX 



50E 



Plowing practice — 

Deep, 406, 408 

Fall and spring, 412 

On brush land, 410 

Shallow, 65 
Plows — 

Early types, 24 

Modern types, 27 
Potash fertilizers — 

Analysis and cost, 281 

Potassium equivalent, 283 

Source of, 287 

Use and application, 313 
Potassium — Abundance of, 277, 

321, 329, 333 
Potato (see also cultivated 
crops) — 

FertiUzers for, 287, 313 

Method of planting, 456 
Potato diseases, 431, 432, 435 
Potato farming — 

Influence on succeeding crops, 
356 

Rotations for, 126, 171, 1-88 

Utilization of waste products, 85 
Proso millet — 

For forage and seed, 175 

In rotations, 180 

Method of seeding, 456 

Quack grass, 443 

Ragweed, 438 

Ranching, 227 

Rape (see also catch crops) — • 
For annual pasture, 133, 139 
Method of seeding, 133, 139, 456 

Rations — Balanced, 473 

Red River Valley soil fertility, 395 



Reorganization of old farms, 103 

Rice farming — Rotations for, 201, 
221 

Roots of crops — ■ 

Deep-rooted, 60, 411 
Shallow-rooted, 60 

Rotation — 
Advantages, 71 
Definition, 39, 98 
Diagram of principles, 101 
Division of fields for, 100 
Experimental evidence, 339 
Field management for, 98, 103 
Fixed feature of, 253 
History of, 29 

Importance in farm manage- 
ment, 33, 37 
Insufficiency of, 264 
Labor and business manage- 
ment, 81 
PracticabiHty of, 251 
Relation to soil fertility, 80, 349 
Sufficiency of, 266 

Rotations — 

Early American, 32 

Early EngHsh, 31 

For North Atlantic states, 183 

For North Central states, 164 

For South Atlantic states, 191 

For South Central states, 203 

For Western states, 223 

Live stock farming, 130, 138, 

197 
Long cycle, 127 
Minor, for stock farms, 131 
Short cycle, 124 
Use of alfalfa in, 145 
Use of catch crops in, 135 
Use of cover crops in, 143 



506 



INDEX 



Use of green manures in, 140 
Without pastures, for intensive 

farming, 153 
With permanent pastures, 150 
Rye — See grain crops 

Seed — Amounts to sow, 454 
Seed selection, 420, 424 
Sewage — 

Cause of plant food waste, 
56, 388 

Recovery of, in Orient, 389 
Shallow-rooted crops — 

Effect on soil properties, 60 

List of, 60 
Smuts— Control of, 429, 430, 431 
Soil fertility — 

Conservation of, 399 
. Depletion and maintenance of, 
392 

Not inexhaustible, 261 

Red River Valley experience, 
395 

Relation of hve stock to, 72, 346 

Relation of rotation to, 80, 349 
Soiling crops, 133, 155 
Soil properties, affected by — 

cultivated crops, 54, 65 

deep-rooted crops, 60 

delicate feeding crops, 59 

grain crops, 60, 64, 345 

grass crops, 54, 66 

gross feeding crops, 58 

humus destroying crops, 54, 345 

humus producing crops, 50 

legume crops, 57 

nitrogen gathering crops, 55 

shallow-rooted crops, 60 
Soils- 
Control of moisture in, 412 



Inoculation of, 415 

Plowing practice, 405 
Sorghum (see also cultivated 
crops) — Method of planting, 
457 
South Atlantic states, 191 
South Central states, 203 
Soy beans — 

In rotations, 169, 172, 195 

Inoculation for, 418 

Method of planting, 457 
Subsoiling, 408 
Sudan grass — 

For forage in semi-arid areas, 
175 

Method of seeding, 457 
Sugar beet farming — 

Fertilizer experiments, 334 

Rotations for, 126, 171 
Sugar cane farming — Rotations 

for, 221 
Sweet clover — 

Effect of roots on subsoil, 411 

For green manure, 178 

For hay and pasture, 179- 

Inoculation for, 418 

In rotations, 180 

Method of seeding, 179, 455 

Tankage — 
Analysis and cost, 281 
Source of, 289 

Thistles- 
Bull, 440 
Canadian, 441 

Tillage- 
Control of moisture by, 412 
Experiments of Jethro Tull, 26 
History of, 24 



INDEX 



507 



Timothy — See grass crops and 

pastures 
Tobacco (see also cultivated 
crops) — 
Fertilizers for, 287, 313 
Method of planting, 457 
Tobacco farming — Rotations for, 

172, 189, 199, 220 
Tobacco rot, 435 
Tull, Jethro, 26, 30 
Turnips, (see also catch crops) — 
For sheep pasture, 138 
Method of seeding, 457 



Varro, 20, 30 

Vetches — 

For green manure o; 

47, 175 
Inoculation for, 418 
In rotations, 180, 244 
Method of seeding, 457 



hay, 



Washington, George, 32 
Waste crop products, 85 
Weeds — 

Affected by continuous crop- 
ping, 65, 66 

Affected by rotation cropping, 
71 

Eradication of, 436 
Weights of agricultural products, 

452 
Western states, 223 
Wheat — See grain crops 
Wild mustard, 437 
Wild oats, 438 

Wolff feeding standards, 477 
Wood ashes, 281, 288 
Wood, Jethro, 27 

Yarranton, Andrew, 21 
Young, Arthur, 31 



STANDARD AGRICULTURAL BOOKS 

STANDARD AGRICULTURAL 
BOOKS 

Published by 
WEBB PUBLISHING CO., ST. PAUL, MINN. 

FIELD CROPS 

By A. D. WILSON, Sup't of Farmers' Institutes and Extension, 
Minnesota College of Agriculture, and C. W. WAR- 
BURTON, Agronomist, U. S. D. A. 



544 pages, 162 illustrations, cloth, $1.50 net. 



This book discusses the peculiarities of each of the various classes 
and varieties of farm crops, the handling of the soil, selections of seed, 
and general crop management. It covers the cereals, including corn, 
wheat, oats, rye, barley, etc.; forage crops, including hay grasses, clo- 
ver, alfalfa, cowpeas and other legumes; how to make good meadows 
and pastures, and the art of hay making, etc.; root crops; sugar crops; 
fibre crops, including cotton, flax, hemp; tobacco, potatoes, in fact 
eveuy farm crop of any importance is discussed. The introductory 
chapters give the general classification of farm crops and their uses and 
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concluding chapters discuss the theory and practice of crop rotation 
and weeds and their eradication. A list of supplementary references 
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makeup. 



AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 

By J. B. DAVIDSON, Professor of Agricultural Engineering, 

Iowa State College ' 



554 pages, 342 illustrations, cloth, $1.50 net. 



The subjects discussed are so applicable to the every-day work 
of the farm that the book will prove of great interest and value to 
those engaged in practical agriculture. The following subjects are 
given space according to their importance: Agricultural Surveying, 
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STANDARD AGRICULTURAL BOOKS 

BEGINNINGS IN ANIMAL 
HUSBANDRY 

By CHARLES S. PLUMB, Professor of Animal Husbandry, College 
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395 pages, 217 illustrations, cloth, $1.25 net. 

Beginnings in Animal Husbandry is a book that will be found to 
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Types and Breeds, Judging, Feeding; Eggs and Incubation; Poultry 
Houses. Every subject discussed fully. 



SOILS AND SOIL FERTILITY 

By A. R. WHITSON, Professor of Soils and Drainage, and H. L. 
WALSTER, Instructor of Soils, Univ. of Wis. 

315 pages, well illustrated, cloth, $1.25 net. 

No other book on Soils presents the relation of the soil to the 
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are chapters on the following: Conditions Essential to Plant Growth, 
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DAIRY LABORATORY GUIDE 

By G. L. MARTIX. Professor of Dairying, North Dakota Agricultural 

College. 



140 pages. Illustrated, cloth, 50c postpaid. 

This laboratory manual offers a carefully organized series of exer- 
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STANDARD AGRICULTURAL BOOKS 

POPULAR FRUIT GROWING 

By SAMUEL B. GREEN, late Professor of Horticulture and Forestry, 
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Revised by Le Roy Cady. 

300 pages, 120 illustrations, cloth, $1.00. 

Although there are a number of books on fruit culture extant, no 
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Plants to the Acre. 



VEGETABLE GARDENING 

By SAMUEL B. GREEN, late Professor of Horticulture and Forestry, 

University of Minnesota. 

12tli Edition. Revised by Le Roy Cady. 

252 pages, profusely illustrated, cloth, $1.00, postpaid. 

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AMATEUR FRUIT GROWING 

By SAMUEL B. GREEN, late Professor of Horticulture, 
University of Minnesota. 

134 pages, profusely illustrated, cloth, 50 cents. 

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FARM RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 

By ANDREW BOSS, Professor of Agronomy and Farm Management, 
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Size 11x13 inches. Price $2.00. 



A simple method of keeping farm accounts which is thoroughly 
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PROFITABLE STOCK FEEDING 

By H. R. SMITH, Professor of Animal Husbandry in the University 
of Minnesota. Formerly of the University of Nebraska. 



Cloth, 51^x7 inches, 413 pages, $1.50. 

A complete work on the subject of stock feeding by a practical 
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GRASSES AND HOW TO GROW THEM 

By THOMAS SHAW. 

450 pages, illustrated, cloth, $1.50 net. 

This book discusses all the grasses at present found in the United 
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that of meadows and making hay. 



WEEDS AND HOW TO ERADICATE THEM 

By THOMAS SHAW. 
A NEW AND REVISED EDITION. 



240 pages, illustrated, cloth, 50 cents. 

This new edition of "Weeds and How to Eradicate Them" con- 
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STANDARD AGRICULTURAL BOOKS 

AGRICULTURE FOR YOUNG 
FOLKS 

By A. D. WILSON, Superintendent of Farmers' Institute and Agricul- 
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Cloth bound, 340 pages, size 514x7 inclies, large clear type. 
Profusely illustrated, $1.00. 



The most practical ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURAL TEXTBOOK 
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out shortening the time of, or crowding out, any other subject. 



ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 

By J. H. SHEPPERD, Dean of the Agricultural Department and 

Professor of Agriculture in the North Dakota Agricultural 

College, and J. C. McDOWELL, Expert in Farm 

Management, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



Profusely illustrated, 254 pages, SV^xT, cloth, $1.00. 



This excellent elementary text was prepared especially for use 
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terests. 



STANDARD AGRICULTURAL BOOKS 



